


Catharsis of Yearning

by Ethriel (Piwahnah), Piwahnah



Category: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade, Beyblade
Genre: AU, Action/Horror, Character Death/Violence, M/M, Yaoi, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-01 19:16:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4031470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piwahnah/pseuds/Ethriel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piwahnah/pseuds/Piwahnah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Midwich has gone dark. Team Alpha is missing. Delta Team has been sent to retrieve their comrades and complete the mission...surrounded and unable to turn back, there is no choice but to confront the beasts lurking in the darkness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blitzkrieg Missing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lyson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyson/gifts).



The tape crackled. As a result, the voices did too. Unfortunately no amount of cracking could drown out the popping of gunfire, the screams of terror from the men, the echoes of an unidentified explosion. Even with all the commotion in the background, the frantic yells of the radio-operator were crystal clear. _“We need back-up! Send reinforcements 2 klicks North-West of Midwich! Fuck!” The transmission was interrupted by the sounds of more gun fire before another voice, muffled, could be heard calling in the background. “We are low on ammo and need immediate assistance! We need a MEDEVAC and—“_

_“Move, damn you!”_ Another voice, stronger, growling out the order, and the sounds of shuffling and sporadic gunfire. _“Shit!”_

_“Man down! Man down!”_ A third voice called clearly.

The fourth identified a name. _“Raul! No!”_

_“Lavalier! Get back here!...No! That’s a damn order!”_ The second voice barked.

_“He’s not moving!”_ The fourth voice responded, clearer than before.

_“Give it an hour! Let’s get the hell out of here!”_ A new voice suggested frantically, accompanied by a burst of gunfire.

_“Get down!”_ A sixth voice spoke up, and the males who sat in the room mentally noted that only two voices remained unheard from the team of eight. The explosion must have been a strong one as they heard a small grunt and the hurried scrabble of a man getting back to his feet. Everything was hushed for a while, suggesting the team were moving, and had managed to put a bit of distance between themselves and their pursuers.

What possible enemy could have put Alpha Team on the run and have them calling for back-up? They were the best trained unit in the division, in spite of the frequent turnover in personnel, and the team - aptly dubbed Blitzkrieg by their commanders - had seen more action than the unit sitting within the room listening to their latest exploit. Then again, their habitual success was the prime reason Team Delta had not seen as much action – Team Delta were only called in when another unit either fucked up or needed back up. _"That is why we are codenamed 'Cataphract'."_ His commander had informed him flatly, his first day on base. _"We are the cavalry. Our only mission is to pick up the pieces when other squads FUBAR theirs."_

The silence broke, drawing him from his musings and forcing him back to the situation at hand.

_“What the fuck...”_

There was growling in the background, and the second voice spoke. _“Do not move.”_

_“Don’t move?!”_ The fifth voice mimicked, outraged.

_“He’s right.”_ The third replied lowly. _“We move, it attacks...whatever the fuck **it** is.”_

_“We stay still we’re sitting ducks.”_ The voice of the radio-operator pointed out.

_“Lavalier, you wanted to move before. Do it. Make a run for the left flank.”_ The second voice commanded in a low, and distinctly mocking, tone. _“When its attention is focused on you, we kill it.”_

_“What if it kills me first?”_

_“...”_

There were a few moments of tense silence, and when it drew out the rooms occupants began to wonder if Lavalier had disobeyed the direct order. But then there was the soothing sound of gunfire, and the voice that seemed to be in command spoke up once more. _“Move out. There’s supposed to be a mansion nearby. If we get that far, we can barricade ourselves in and figure out what the fuck we’re going to do. Kenny, will you turn that radio off?”_

_“Sir, I’ve called for back-up and—“_

_“You called for back-up without authorization? What the **fuck** were you thinking? We are handling this!”_

_“Tell that to Raul.”_ The fourth voice snapped.

_“Quit bitching and start moving Lavalier. I’ve about had it with you.”_

At this point there was a soft clunk, signalling that the radio had been shut-off and moments later the General stepped to the front of the room, hands clasped behind his back as he regarded the rooms occupants evenly. “This message was received at 2200 hours yesterday, three hours after we authorized Blitzkrieg's deployment. Other than this transmission we have received no further communication with Team Alpha. Originally they were sent out on a sight-seeing mission, but whatever threat is out there is greater than we imagined. Your mission objectives are simple Cataphract: Your prime objective is to locate and rendezvous with Team Alpha. Secondary objective is to assist in the neutralization of any and all hostiles you encounter en-route - **no** exceptions. Lastly...come home alive, men.”

Nodding to the indigo-haired male seated beside him, the commander turned towards the door, the others rising to offer a grim salute of farewell. Standing up with the innate grace of nobility and the posture befitting his rank Major Robert Jürgens, leader of Delta Team, stared around at his men. “At ease." He said when the door had closed with a low click, waiting until they had all returned to their seats before addressing them once more. "For the first time in a long time Blitzkrieg has failed to fulfil their mission. For us it's just business as usual. We deal with these screw-ups every day - only now we get the privilege of knowing we bailed out the best and brightest."

Someone, he had a distinct suspicion it was Eddie, gave a low and joyful whoop of triumph at the notion and he repressed his own smile of satisfaction to cast him a warning glower. "Sorry Major." Eddie grinned apologetically. "Just can't wait to see Mike again."

"Try and stay focused until we've found them, Wheeler. First contact was made when their chopper went down in the woods surrounding Midwich. We are going by the likely assumption that they never made it into Midwich proper and have instead set out towards the mansion their commander mentioned.”

Tala Ivanov, twenty-four years old and a rookie by Robert’s standards, raised his hand and received a nod permitting him to speak. “Why are we going by the assumption that they never made it? We don’t have the exact location of **where** the chopper crash-landed. For all we know they wound up in one of the local’s backyards.”

Robert offered the younger male an indulgent smile. “There was a two-hour break in communication between Blitzkrieg and Command. First contact came in the form of a thirty-two second transmission made by the pilot, Brooklyn Masefield, indicating that there was some kind of disturbance and his helicopter was going down fast. There was roughly ninety minutes unaccounted for between the time of the crash and the distress-call we just heard. Now, in a crash, there are always injuries – even of the smallest sort - that need to be dealt with. That would take at least twenty minutes. I’m sure you know how long it would take to walk and-or run three klicks, Ivanov?”

“Yes, sir.”

“At least an hour, am I correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The timeframe indicates that they either landed far out in the woods and made an attempt to go back, but were cut off by whatever enemy is out there, or they ended up nearby but were busy checking over their wounded when the attack started. Considering the one person we didn’t hear speak or mentioned was the pilot, it’s safe to assume he’s dead or so seriously injured he could not be moved from the chopper.”

Tala nodded his acceptance of this explanation and settled back in his seat.

“Our plan of action is simple, we will drive out there and find Alpha. Yes, it will take a little longer, but if that disturbance is still going on the last thing we need is another crash which might not have so few casualties. We will abandon the truck outside town limits, proceed on foot through the town, and after securing the area we’ll head out into the woods. As we speak satellites are in place trying to pinpoint the exact location of the crash-site, and once they find it we’ll follow Alpha Team on from there. As the General pointed out, any hostile we come across is to be perceived as dangerous and to be terminated with extreme prejudice. There are to be no warning-shots. One command to surrender, and if they do not, you take them out by any means necessary. Any questions?”

The members of Delta Team remained dutifully silent, and Robert smiled.

“Then gear up. We leave in five.”


	2. Blood and Bullets

Midwich was just like any other small town whose only purpose was a brief resting point on the way to somewhere else. Only two of the roads had warranted paving, the rest were little more than beaten dirt paths barely wide enough to accommodate even the most modest car. Most of the town seemed to sprout up where Main Street converged with Elm Row, dividing the town into four quadrants.

 

After disabling the engine and abandoning their vehicle just outside the town limits, but upon finding it seemingly deserted, Delta Team had split into three teams of two; Robert and Rei would proceed to the North-East, where the Town Hall, sheriffs department and fire department were located. Johnny and Enrique had been instructed to take the South-East, which from a distance seemed little more than a suburb, thus leaving Tala and Eddie to check South-West for any sign of the towns inhabitants.

 

Robert had briefed them on the town and its surroundings, on what they should expect upon their arrival - and what they were supposed to say should their presence be questioned by the residents. 'Training exercise' was something of a clichéd cover-story, but it was usually enough to ensure the continued cooperation of local officials without them raising too many questions. The mission was largely a need-to-know affair and, with the exception of Robert himself, the rest of Delta team was left in the dark.

 

Tala had seen at once that the Major hadn't particularly approved of the secrecy and it had only taken a careful question or two from Johnny to have him reveal a few more details about the situation: Midwich was a boomtown constructed sometime during the fifties to support and man a classified facility located three-or-so kliks North of the town itself. No, Robert did not know the purpose of the mystery facility and no, even if he did he wouldn't tell them unless not knowing would do more harm than good.

 

That the town had served a purpose was clear - though few in the U.N could tell you what the purpose actually was - and so long as they were living up to it where was the trouble? The cause for concern came in the form of a communication blackout between Midwich and... _"The reports weren't very clear who signalled the first alarm. The majority of this information is redacted, and what little has been left intact is so vague that I suspect it's fabricated."_

 

So what was there to go on?

 

_"We were first contacted about the disturbance after two members of the neighbouring towns police force didn't return after being sent out there to investigate. Who or what tipped them off we don't know, but for whatever reason the disappearance of Officers Harris and Davies sent up some red flags and Team Alpha was sent in to find out what was going on."_

_"You don't Blitzkrieg a search-and-rescue mission, Robert. Why weren't we called in to recover the cops instead of Alpha?"_

_"Need-to-know. And apparently I don't need to, so neither do you, McGregor."_

 

Despite his training to maintain radio contact Tala did not fail to notice that not one message was relayed over the time it took himself and Eddie to walk the length of the street that veered off from the main road. At one point he suspected that someone - most likely Robert - had contacted Eddie directly - probably to check up on him - but the other had merely let out a little grunt before falling back into a companionable silence once more.

 

He supposed the thing that really bothered him - more than the breach of protocol - was the unnatural silence of the world around them. He turned back to better examine the path they had just taken, noting that in the fifteen or so minutes it had taken them to leisurely patrol the area they had yet to see or even hear some indication of human life, other than the abandoned buildings and their own footfalls. Looking to the American from the corner of his eye he murmured, "You grow up in the country, Eddie?"

 

"Me? Naw man, Chicago. Closest thing I saw to the forest was a postcard. Why?"

 

He shrugged slightly and turned to better meet the curious brown eyes of the taller male, inclining his head behind them. "I grew up in an Abbey in Russia. We were surrounded on all sides by woods, just like this. Not even in the dead of winter was it ever this quiet. It's not natural."

 

"What? You mean like birds?"

 

"Birds, bugs, generic woodsy wildlife..." He waved a hand in the direction of the buildings. "Johnny and Enrique were headed out into the 'burbs, Rei and the Major went looking for the sheriff's department and town hall, right? "

 

He received a nod of confirmation. "Right."

 

He lifted a shoulder once more in an effort to appear nonchalant in the face of his own unease as he pointed out the closest building. "Look where we ended up. This place should be crawling with life. Why aren't the kids in school?"

 

Eddy lifted a wrist to check his watch and murmured, "It's a little after four. Most schools get out at three."

 

"Alright. And the grocery store? The diner? The motel? The bait shop? Any of the half-dozen buildings we didn't bother to search? Does the town shut down at four?"

 

"Touché. Maybe there's a town meeting." He peered around the neighbourhood once more, slapped the redheads arm lightly to indicate they should start making their way back to crossroad to regroup and added, "Could explain where all the cars are too. You notice that?"

 

"Only two real roads and zero potholes." He confirmed. "Not like they have much of a drive to get from one place to the other, but still. We should've seen someone by now." He paused to steal a look at the American from the corner of his eye, trying to gauge his expression and finding it almost painfully devoid of tells as he continued to scope out the area. He sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair, ever mindful of the wire that ran from his earpiece to the transceiver strapped between his shoulder-blades. He caught Eddie glance at him but when the taller male noticed that he was already under surveillance he simply grinned and shrugged the attention aside. "You think the others have found anything yet?"

 

"Maybe." He replied noncommittally.

 

He stayed silent for a mental three-count in his head before asking, as casually as possible, "Shouldn't we report in and find out?"

 

"Good idea." He halted in place abruptly and touched a hand to his throat, his grin widening as he checked his watch once more. "All clear out here Major."

 

For the first time in almost a half-hour Tala was greeted by the sound of the German's mild voice and it caused a small start to go through him. _"That radio-silence lasted fifteen minutes too long, Ivanov."_ In spite of the distinctly scolding tone in his voice it seemed otherwise devoid of anger as he let out a low sigh down the line. _"McGregor reported in a few minutes ago - they found the cop-car. I want the pair of you to rendezvous with them and then make your way towards the Town Hall. Rei and I will be searching the precinct and the fire department."_

"What? Precinct? Why the hell would this shitty little burg need a **precinct**?"

 

_"Your guess is as good as mine, but it looks like a new addition. Move out."_

 

Although the grin had fallen somewhat flat during his report Eddie continued to smile at him as they walked, one hand loosely gripping his weapon and the other lifted to massage his neck, but for a time he was content to say nothing to the new recruit. He had half-expected an immediate tantrum from the younger redhead, or at least some complaining about being set-up in such a fashion, but the Russian seemed more comfortable not talking about it than he was. Finally he broached softly, "You know that if you don't know shit you gotta ask, right?" Tala shrugged mutely, keeping his eyes dead ahead and Eddie held out a hand to stop him, sighing. "It isn't hazing." He informed bluntly but as gently as he could manage. "It's just straight up procedure. You don't know what's going on, you gotta **ask** , man. I mean shit, you **know** we're supposed to report in every ten minutes--"

 

"--five in situations like this." Tala agreed with a nod. "I know."

 

"--right. So why'd it take you fifteen to bring it up?"

 

Another shrug. "You're the ranking officer here, Eddie. It's **your** job to call in. I'm not going to tell you how to do your job."

 

"That's a bullshit excuse and you know it. You want that type of crap to fly you go back to regular army with the robots - we need you to be able to make command decisions on your own if the need arises. Shit, what if you got separated and your radio was busted? What would you do then? Wait for me or Robert to contact you?" He threw his eyes up towards the sky and let out a sigh of exasperation when he noticed the way those cyan eyes lowered almost submissively to the dirt road. "Look, I'm not trying to be an asshole--"

 

"I know." He replied softly. "But I also know that not every procedure taught in the classroom is adhered to in the field."

 

"That's why it's called a command decision - when you have to break procedure because that is the safest course of action." He nudged an elbow into the redheads ribs when the silence drew out too long and when he caught sight of the others eyes he threw him a jaunty wink. "Don't sweat it - it's not like Robert is planning to ambush you about it later. Just...you know, loosen up. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you're not sure about something. I don't know what kind of fucked-up dog-eat-dog training they do in Alpha squad but--" He cut himself short abruptly, letting out a low expletive. "Shit, Robert said not to mention that..."

 

"He say why?"

 

"Nope. Just said not to bring up you dropping out of Alpha."

 

"Yes, I transferred out of Alpha. No, it didn't have anything to do with the training."

 

"My buddy Mike used to be in this squad before he shipped out to Alpha. You ever meet him?"

 

"Must have been after I dropped out."

 

"Heh, maybe we switched redheads." He chuckled at the thought and was pleased when aforementioned redhead cracked a smile, even if he didn't laugh. "Look, I don't wanna know your life story. All I meant to say was, we're not just a team. We're family. And you, well, you're our new baby brother. Yes, we're going to scrap sometimes. We're not always going to say the right shit. But at the end of the day, we look out for each other. You don't know something, you have a question or an idea? You spit it the fuck out. Keep in mind, that only lasts for like...six missions, so milk it while you can. After that you're not a baby anymore and we can all pick on you."

 

Sighing, Tala shook his head a little when he caught sight of Johnny and Enrique in the distance, for the first time noticing that had almost traversed half the length of the town. It was true and he knew it - they had repeatedly tried embracing him into their demented little family, inviting him out to bars or over to one of their homes - usually Eddie's - for a BBQ in the backyard while the kids ran riot and paddled in the pool. Ever since he had landed somewhat unceremoniously in their lap six months ago, before he had even completed his training, they had done their best to make him feel welcome. When the team effort had failed they had gone so far as to try one-on-one outings. Hell, in the last week alone he had been invited to a Bulls game by Eddie, a game of chess with Robert, a dinner date with Enrique (which had left him feeling more than a little awkward in spite of the flirtatious blonde's assurances that there was nothing weird about it), a trip to Johnny's freaking **castle**...suddenly curious he looked to Eddie and murmured from the corner of his mouth, "Johnny doesn't **really** own a castle, does he?"

 

Eddie chuckled lowly. "Sure he does."

 

"You're fucking with me."

 

"I wish I was. That the cop-car Johnny?"

 

"Naw, it's the clown car you dozy twit." The Scot deadpanned as he kicked himself away from the black and white cruiser to cast the other a derisive glower. "And before you ask the next obvious question no, there's no sign of the cops. Wherever the fuck they are, they ain't here. Giancarlo and I searched all over, nothing besides some empty houses and a lot of open doors."

 

"Yeah. We got the supermarket, the school and a couple of other hotspots that were suspiciously empty." Eddie muttered, lowering his eyes to his watch and shaking his head. "Sun's going to be down within the hour and we haven't the first idea what the hell happened here."

 

"Mass exodus, looks like." Enrique spoke up from where he stood idly examining their surroundings. "Got twenty houses on this street alone, four neighbourhoods, and out of those twenty I count seventeen open doors. We left 'em how we found 'em, so that's three people who either weren't home when the fan got hit or had the state of mind to close and lock up behind themselves."

 

"So it's looking like we have a repeat of Motuo?"

 

"Motuo?" Tala repeated curiously.

 

"Before your time, rookie." Johnny filled in bluntly. "A place near Rei's hometown, funnily enough. Some fucked up people out that way, they lured all the non-Neko's together in the town square and sacrificed them in some ritual to bring rise to the great white tiger--"

 

"What Johnny means to say is that there are a lot of similarities. Missing townsfolk, no evident signs of struggle or that these people had time to pack before they disappeared. Secluded location. But we don't mention this in front of Rei."

 

"I can imagine." He mumbled numbly. "Did he...did he have any family there? In Motuo?"

 

"Nope. Says he didn't even know there was another clan, thought his was the only one. Shit he says it's so reclusive they gotta be careful who they breed with in case they turn out to be related somehow, just like in Iceland. Still..." Johnny shrugged. "...you don't want to bring it up with Rei. Motuo was some bad shit."

 

_"Report."_

 

Tala was mildly thankful for the change in topic as Eddie swiftly explained the situation to their commander, turning his eyes about the deserted road and off towards Main Street. “Where are Robert and Rei?” He asked quietly when the American had paused to take a breath.

 

"Rei went to check out the copshop. Robert just left the fire department, which also seems to serve as a clinic. Makes sense, I guess. Keep all your important shit together."

 

Johnny, having noticed the other redheads state of distraction nudged him in an effort to regain his attention as he asked, “Something wrong Ivanov?”

 

The blue eyes blinked before he turned to regard his elders, shaking his head slightly. “Just wondering where the cops might be. Was there any sign that the car had been attacked?”

 

“No.” Johnny shoved Eddie forward, and Enrique smiled slightly at Tala as they set off towards the Town Hall, rolling his eyes at the Scot’s brusque and undetailed reply.

 

“What Johnny means Tala is that the windows aren’t smashed, the doors are closed and locked and there's no blood nearby. We figure that wherever the cops went after they left the car, they weren’t forced there, and they certainly didn’t go near the car again. We can guess that by the lack of signs of a struggle, the fact that the keys aren’t laying around, and once again the obvious tell-tale sign of no blood. Shoot, stab, hell even strangle, you leave blood behind.”

 

“So where’d they go?" Eddie threw in his two cents, cocking a questioning brow at the all-knowing redhead. "Out for a stroll? I mean Jesus am I the only one who thinks that if they were going to walk, they’d have left the car in the center of town, at the cross-road, rather than all the way out at the East side?”

 

“Maybe they saw something. Maybe one went for a shit and the other followed and they got lost in the woods. Who the fuck knows? We’re here to neutralize any hostiles and clean up whatever mess Blitzkrieg left behind, nothing more.” Johnny muttered. “Fuck, I shouldn’t even be here.”

 

“Hit the bottle a little hard last night, Johno?” Eddie smirked.

 

“More like the bottle hit me.” The redhead retorted dourly, scowling darkly at the scenery as they trudged towards the Town Hall. “Claire walked out last night, but not before hurling anything she could lift at me.”

 

This cracked Eddie up and he had to stop and lean on Tala for support as he cackled his mirth.

 

“Yeah, yeah Eddie very funny. Laugh it up wiseass.”

 

“I always said that girl had good aim.” He quipped, and fell into another bout of laughter.

 

Tala smiled slightly and shook his head, having never met the woman who had had the patience to live with Johnny, but he had heard enough of the one-sided arguments to know exactly how often he lost them. He hadn’t been on the team long enough to have met the partners of his colleagues, in spite of their best efforts to introduce him. As with the attempts to spend time together he always hung back, excluding himself because of his own insecurity in regards to his position within the unit. He had yet to prove himself to them, these men who already accepted him as a brother. This was to be his first mission, the day he could finally prove himself worthy or transfer out in disgrace.

 

Today, as Eddie had so eloquently put it on their way out of the barracks, his cherry would be popped.

 

“Hold up!” Enrique exclaimed, holding up a hand to stop Tala and jerking him almost violently from his own thoughts, also catching the attention of the bickering pair behind them. “What the **fuck** is that?”

 

“What’s what?” Eddie blinked, looking in the direction Enrique was staring. Johnny, on the other hand, was not one for such precautions and barked a short ‘Cover me’ as he slowly approached the glittering object beside one of the houses on the right side of the street. Obediently they took up positions, Tala watching the way they had been headed, Eddie watching the way they had come, and Enrique scanning the area surrounding Johnny.

 

“It’s a...Christ! Get over here!”

 

The remaining three cautiously approached the redhead, still watching the surrounding area vigilantly, until the stopped by Johnny’s side, glancing down at the grass where he knelt. “What the...” Eddie began, but the words seemed to catch in his throat.

 

“...it’s a shield. 8930 Officer Harris. There’s blood on it.”

 

“I guess it’s safe to assume they didn’t get lost in the woods while taking a dump.” Tala sighed, shaking his head as he stared down at the shiny badge held in Johnny’s blood-stained fingertips. The broader redhead’s eyes glittered like cold amethyst stones, locked on the woods that edged the neatly trimmed backyards.

 

“Maybe they didn’t get lost, but the blood says Harris, at least, was either running or carried through here and into the woods. See the marks?” He pointed them out specifically to the Russian, who nodded and crouched down beside him. He chewed his lower lip for a moment, wondering whether or not to voice his opinion, but having seen the contemplative gaze of the younger male Johnny took the initiative. “You disagree with my theory?” He asked, his voice level but curious.

 

A lean shoulder lifted slightly before dropping in a forced attempt at a casual shrug, and Tala swallowed thickly to ease the nervous knot in his throat before he replied. “The grass, it’s all squashed down. Some of the dirt underneath has been kicked up, and there’s marks, but not footprints. I’d say he was dragged into the woods, maybe by Davies. But I’m about 90% certain that whoever was bleeding was dragged - not walking, and not carried.”

 

Johnny smirked, gave a curt nod, and rose to his feet. “Opinion seconded, well noticed.” He praised, giving Tala’s shoulder a squeeze with his free hand as he pocketed the badge and shoved him along. “Robert taught you well.”

 

Tala made a soft sound in the back of his throat, but was otherwise silent as they continued their trek.

 

* * *

 

 

“How long will supplies last?”

 

“A few more days. A week tops if we ration, but beyond that...”

 

“...we’re screwed. Keep this between us Kenny, this is the last thing they need to hear right now, especially after Raul and Brooklyn.”

 

“What about the back-up Sir? Won’t they...?”

 

“You assume they’ll make it this far. The only thing Cataphract is good for is taking the credit when we clear the way. Don’t put too much faith in them. Is the radio still in working order?”

 

“No, it was damaged by the blast. The satellite is shot to shit, it’ll only keep close range now. I’d say...half a mile radius. Anything outside that and we’ll be in the dark...are we going to die?”

 

“...”

 

“What if there was more food? Somewhere in the mansion?”

 

“Would you honestly eat anything you found in here? Do you think they would? I suppose if they got hungry enough they might, but there’s still the risk it’s infected.”

 

“What about those things? They seem cannibalistic...do you think if we secured ourselves in this room, waited it out, that they might starve?”

 

“Kenny why are you asking me these questions like I have the fucking answers? I know just about as much as you. Going by intelligence alone, which seems to be about the level of an infant, yes, they might starve. But their **instincts** , that's a whole different story. They're like sharks, as soon as they caught the scent of blood they locked in on it, they attack like wolves – in groups. If they can’t find a food-source here, they’ll travel further, and they’ll spread the infection.”

 

“So what you’re saying is...”

 

“...we have to finish the mission. Otherwise, this might just get worse.”

 

* * *

 

 

The Town Hall was not as impressive as it sounded. There were no blindingly white pillars, there were no remarkable marble steps or great bronzed statues flanking the entrance. It was just another half-assed unremarkable building in a tiny town. “You think you shouldn’t be here, Johnny?” Enrique remarked drily as they headed up the stairs. “I’m a pilot for Gods sake. **I** shouldn’t be here when there’s nothing to fly.”

 

Johnny snorted as they walked in the opened front doors, shaking his head as he muttered curses under his breath. He silenced himself, however, when they found the remaining team members in the main reception, Robert glancing up from a large leather-bound ledger to arch a brow. All in the room knew that the eyebrow was raised in regards to the Scot’s foul language, and aforementioned Scot rolled his eyes. “Did you find anything?” Robert asked, returning his eyes to the ledger before him.

 

“No people, Johnny and I found the squad-car down the east quadrant...err...we found a badge on our way here, too. Belonged to Officer Harris. It was covered in blood but we don't know if it's his, but a trail nearby led to the woods--"

 

Johnny interrupted the blonde to add, "Tala suspects - and I concur - that one of the officers, likely Harris, was dragged out into the woods. By Davies or his attackers we can only speculate."

 

Robert glanced up only long enough to offer the slender Russian a firm nod of approval before looking to Eddie, arching a cool brow and awaiting his report. "As I said before Major, the only interesting we found was that there was absolutely no sign of anyone. I’d say we were pretty much alone out here. Did you guys find anyone?”

 

“No one. There was a bloody office back there, a few broken windows, but no bodies. Rei returned from the Midwich PD with their log book, the last entry was dated ten days ago. It was an unexplained death, the body found in the woods. No evidence was discovered at the scene, the body was brought to the morgue for an autopsy, and then nothing. No complaints, no disturbances...if it wasn’t for the bloodstained office, I would suspect the people had just packed up and moved on. However, there is another problem.”

 

“What’s that then?” Johnny sighed, settling down on a table which had probably once supported the pamphlets that now lay scattered across the floor. Several chairs lay overturned or on their sides, a potted plant lay broken atop the reception desk, the soil loose. The plants roots poked out of the almost black dirt obscenely, grasping at the air like desperate fingers.

 

“...Rei?” Robert prompted softly.

 

The Neko-jin sat in a corner behind the reception desk and had gone largely unnoticed til their commander had drawn attention to him. Slowly he raised his head, staring at everyone from over his folded arms, which rested atop his knees. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment as he tried to think how he could possibly explain, and let it out in a large sigh, shaking his head in confusion as he lowered his eyes to an invisible spot on the floor. “...whatever happened here, most of it happened in that police station. T-There was blood...blood everywhere...all over the floor...and shells...lots of spent shells...from shotguns, from pistols...hell I think I even saw some rifle ammo lying around in there...”

 

“I get the feeling there’s a but here somewhere.” Johnny interrupted impatiently, but after a sharp glare from Robert he silenced himself yet again, though he took a moment to cast a pointed look at Tala as he tipped his head at the trembling Neko-kin.

 

“Continue Rei.” The indigo haired commander ordered gently, closing the ledger as weary russet eyes lifted to lock with the confused crystal blue’s of the rookie of their team, evident worry flashing inside the normally composed orbs.

 

“...there were nothing else...nothing anywhere...just blood and bullets...”


	3. Darkness Comes

Blood and bullets.

 

They did not need to go further than the threshold of the police department to see that Rei had been correct. For a moment, standing in the double doorway, no one dared enter the reception area painted so red with blood that even the most productive abattoir would have been put to shame. The floor, walls, desk, chairs...none had been spared the grotesque overcoat. Spent shell casings lay scattered amidst the already congealing blood, leaving the floor to resemble a morbid ‘connect-the-dots’ puzzle without an answer. After a few nervous shuffles without any progress Robert straightened unnecessarily and made the first few steps. Blood smeared beneath his booted foot, a streak of muted green linoleum that was quickly submerged by the pool moments later. The indigo-haired male turned to look over his shoulder, frowning slightly, and sighed. “We aren’t going to find out what happened standing on the threshold gentlemen. Move out.”

 

When no one stirred and several nervous glances were exchanged, Johnny stepped forward, rather reluctantly. “With all due respect Major, Rei has already been in there. From what I can see, there’s nothing more to be found here. Rei brought the log-book, we saw it, and we know this is probably where it all went down. What is there to gain from going inside?”

 

Johnny and Robert had been friends a long time, but that did not stop the older male from glowering darkly at the suggestion. “Captain, you know why we are here." He intoned coolly and tipped a nod towards the second set of doors. "I don’t care if there is nothing new to be found. We have orders, and our orders are to search for Team Alpha. Odds are slim that they made it here, but we would be remiss in our duty if we did not make the effort."

 

Tala dropped his eyes to stare at the floor rather than meet the stern russet eyes that pinned each member of the team with a marked look of disapproval before moving onto the next. He heard more than felt the anxious shifting of the Neko-jin at his side when Robert let out a low, defeated sigh.

 

"Very well. If you wish to remain outside Captain, you are free to do so…in fact, you are **all** free to do so,” here he rotated his glare around the group of men once more, lingering just long enough to assure them of his seriousness, “but whoever stays can expect to meet disciplinary action when we return to base. If you are fortunate you will simply face demotion - and subsequent loss of paygrade - for your insubordination. I leave the decision - and your careers - in your own hands.” Without another glance he turned on his heel and strode towards the door that would lead them further into the department, thumbing the safety off his weapon as he disappeared into the gloom beyond.

 

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, though the smell of copper and pennies was almost overpowering and did little to soothe him, Tala took a step inside without glancing back towards the rest of the team. Moving slowly, cyan eyes shifting between the floor beneath his feet and the empty shadows around him, he headed in the same direction that Robert had, trying to stop the shaking of his hands by gripping his rifle tighter. He felt the cool steel slide between his clammy fingers but forced himself to continue forward. At his back he could hear a few mutters, and unsure of how far ahead Robert had gotten, moved faster, not wanting to be alone between the horrid known and the terrifying unknown.

 

He cursed loudly when his foot snagged something beside the door and his arm snapped out, searching for something to latch on to. Strong fingers curled around his arm and yanked him up, forcing him to bite back another curse at the pain that rocketed up his arm at the jerky movement. Looking up he found Robert staring down at him wordlessly. Confused, Tala straightened and turned, his mouth going dry at the sight before his eyes.

 

How Rei had gotten through the door was a mystery with the clutter of chairs, tables, bookcases, desks, even a refrigerator stacked precariously behind them. Someone, or something, had clearly managed to break through the barricade and whatever it was had not been friendly. Bloody handprints decorated the walls like a child’s finger-paintings, some smeared almost beyond recognition, others piled one on top of the other, as if the owner had struck the same spot repeatedly.

 

Some small scraps of cloth that had torn free of their owners testified that at some point the townsfolk had been barricaded within the office - a strip of pink silk, a swatch of red-and-black flannel, a shred of dark cloth that Tala suspected once belonged to a policeman’s uniform. Broken glass lay scattered around the left side of the room, throwing rainbows around the walls from the last threads of daylight creeping in through the boarded up windows. The stench of death and decay was strong in the air but they could not locate the cause. Images of bloated cadavers, of mangled road kill, of torsos ripped open and swarmed by maggots and flies flashed before his eyes in what seemed to be a single heartbeat and he found himself gritting his teeth in the hopes of fighting down the nausea. “Jesus.” He whispered.

 

“Thank you.” Robert murmured after a few moments, deciding not to comment upon the state of disarray the room was in. Stating the obvious was not required at this point and time - that the people of Midwich had tried to hold out against something was as apparent as the fact that they had failed. At this thought his hand returned to his weapon, russet eyes trailing around the room, analyzing and searching for clues he doubted they would find. The rookie’s voice broke him from his task.

“For what?”

 

“For following orders in spite of your inexperience and the majority vote to remain outside. But this is not a democracy - I don’t **want** to see them punished, I can understand their reluctance…but we have to search. If our positions were reversed I know Alpha would do the same for us. Do you have a flashlight?”

 

Tala nodded and swallowed thickly, staring at a particularly dark spot on the floor as he reached for the small cylinder fastened to his belt. He pushed the switch and extended it to Robert, who shook his head and started forward. He kept the tight white beam focused on the German rather than aim it around the room, worried about what might be exposed when the darkness was forced back. “What do we do now?” He asked quietly, hating how loud and fearful he sounded in the silence.

“Look around, see what we can see. Check the offices, the cubicles, the computers…Someone may have left some clue that was not in the log. You start down here, I’ll go up back - we’ll meet in the middle.”

 

“We shouldn’t split up. Regulation states that when splitting up there should be at least two men per team.”

 

Robert cast him what could almost be classed as an annoyed frown but when he spoke his voice was devoid of anger or condemnation. “I am aware. But I think we can agree that neither of us want to be in here longer then necessary. Now go on, but stay in touch. Every two minutes if I do not contact you first, clear?”

 

"As crystal." Sighing, but knowing that Robert's mind was already made up, he glanced quickly at his surroundings as he listened to the footsteps retreating towards the back of the room. Beside the makeshift barricade there were three doors, presumably leading to small offices or storage closets. The rest of the room, besides the sparse potted plant decorations and set of four water coolers, consisted of some two dozen cubicles. There was nowhere for anyone to hide in the compact area, and so with that thought in mind, he turned to the first door.

 

He reached for the knob but instinctively recoiled as he saw it glimmer redly in the beam of his flashlight, his fingertips twitching impotently by his side as he simply continued to stare at it while his gut twisted with disgust. _‘Man up, you pussy. It’s just a little blood. Just plasma, red and white blood cells, probably human so probably clean…open the damn door and get it over with.’_ Gathering his courage he thrust his hand toward the door, a shiver rolling down his spine as he jerked the knob to one side and threw it open. The light spilled inside at once, but the room appeared to be blissfully empty. Before he could close the door and move on to examine the next a hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to start, snapping around and raising his rifle. He was met by a grim Rei. “What’re we looking for?”

 

“Robert said to check for memos, look at the computers, see if there are any last notes. No one else came in?”

 

“Checking the computers is useless, the power is out. I already tried earlier when I was looking for the log. Johnny and Enrique went to check the evidence room, Eddie opted to stay outside and keep an eye on the street. Unnecessary, but judging by the barricade and lack of bodies in here, it might be a worthwhile precaution. Where is Robert?”

 

“Evidence room? I didn’t see one.”

 

Rei lifted a hand and waved it towards the reception area, his eyes nervously beginning to stray towards the door before he forced them back onto the redhead. “The door is behind the desk. Johnny noticed it when we started to come in. If nothing else we’ll hopefully find some usable ammo in there. Whatever is going on here, I think it’s safe to assume there’s more than a small group of hostiles in the area. Where is Robert?” He repeated.

 

“He went off to search the back, said we’d get the search done faster this way.”

 

Rei frowned disapprovingly and folded his arms across his chest. “He knows better than to separate, especially with a rookie…no offence.”

 

“None taken. Do you want to go back and check on him?”

 

“No, I’ll stick with you. Robert is more than capable of taking care of himself, damned stubborn ass that he is. I’ll start searching the main office. Holler if you find anything.”

 

Turning back towards the darkness Tala directed the beam of light into the small office, then took a tentative step inside. He considered searching for the light-switch, but knew that if the lights had not worked for Rei they wouldn’t work for him either. He examined the room slowly, looking for anything that might be of use or give some indication of what had taken place. A bookcase against the far wall had lost two of the middle shelves, spilling books and papers onto the floor beside the cluttered desk, a filing cabinet stood in the corner, inconspicuous and undented. Strange that the people had used bookcases to barricade the door when the stronger, sturdier filing cabinet was so close by. He forced his gaze away, taking in the tipped over chair, the askew monitor and tangled wires surrounding the desk. But his eyes trailed back to the filing cabinet.

 

It could not have been too heavy, if someone had hauled the fridge from its location – probably the staff kitchenette located somewhere in the department - as compared to the closeness of the office. His head tilted in silent curiosity and he moved towards it, rapping one of the drawers with his knuckles. The dull thud told him there was something inside and he wondered for a moment if it would be locked. Giving an experimental pull, he was disappointed to find that it did not move. Reaching down to the next level, he tried again, only to find the same result. But curiosity had him, and so he stood there, racking his brain, wondering where the owner might store the keys.

 

The first batch of answers – on a key-ring, in a pocket - left him feeling hopeless, especially when he began to question if the owner had even been in the office when the attack happened. Discouraged he moved on to the desk, testing the drawers, finding some open, others locked, but all filled with random office knick-knacks and paraphernalia. Sighing in annoyance and wondering if one of the team might be able to pick the lock, he moved on.

 

The second office had no blood on the door and he let out a mental sigh of relief as he pushed it open and stepped inside. Almost identical to the first office except that this one remained undisturbed. Bookcase, filing cabinet, desk, a few photos that he refused to inspect closer as he looked around, testing the filing cabinet and finding it locked. It seemed this department was very cautious about their files, even when death waited outside the door. It was only as he was turning to leave his attention was drawn by a reflective surface in the far corner. His head tilted as he hurried over, dropping to his heels. A laptop? He wondered if there would be any juice left and after a moments consideration decided that even if there wasn’t, it might prove to shed some light on the situation or its owner when they reached somewhere with a power source.

 

As he stepped outside once more, turning to the third door, a wave of fear washed over him, for the golden rays that had seeped through were now turning crimson, signalling the fall of the sun, and he wondered what would happen when the town was plunged into total darkness.

 

It wouldn’t take long to find out.

 

* * *

 

 

Robert had seen many gruesome scenes throughout his career - suicide-bombings, hostage situations gone wrong, ritualistic sacrifices in occultist headquarters…but none of them had ever prepared him for the sight he met as he searched the holding tank.

 

The first thing he identified was that the smell of decay was stronger here; the dark, cloying stench of rot so potent he lifted a hand to shield his mouth and nose in an effort to repel it. Cautiously, he peered around the frame of the door and held his breath as he listened. There was low, wet snarling coming from somewhere beyond the thin slice of light shining through the door and he debated for a moment whether to summon Tala or to investigate by himself. A loud cracking sound made the decision for him and he crept silently into the hallway.

 

The windows in the cells had not been boarded over, and the sun painted red streaks and shadowed bars over the stone walls. Glancing down, he could see more blood on the floor, but not nearly as much as the outer rooms. He could also discern vague shapes imprinted on the floor, but quickly raised his eyes as the sounds grew louder and louder. Reluctantly releasing his nose to raise his rifle he paused for a moment at a bend in the corridor. He could tell there were no more windows and that he would have to make due with what little illumination had reached this shadowed nook. Closing his eyes and counting to three, he snapped around the corner, his gut knotting painfully tight at the sight that met his stunned gaze.

 

On the floor was a woman, face down on the ground. Her aqua eyes stared glassily up at him through strands of auburn hair, blood trickling from what remained of her mouth. The nose, lips, cheeks and ears were also gone, all that remained was a bloody mockery of what might have once been beauty. Around her spilled a green summer-dress, the bodice shredded at one side as blood seeped into the fabric. Beneath one of her outstretched arms was a blood-stained teddy bear and Robert mentally winced at the possibility a child might have viewed this scene. One of her shoes lay discarded to the side, a last weapon against the animal that now crouched beside her, its bloodied-muzzle buried in the soft flesh of her side. From his vantage point, Robert could see that already much of the flesh had been stripped from her torso, as well as several ribs and probably an internal organ or two.

 

He took a cautious step forward, wondering why the dog had killed the woman, when the creature began to growl. He saw the fur rise up at the back of its neck and it raised itself slightly, upper-body hunched close to the ground, snarling and baring its teeth. Robert hesitated and that seemed to be all the signal the animal needed, lunging forward so quickly that he barely had time to brace himself, his rifle rising to press against the beasts throat, jerking his own head back as he felt himself stumbling back against the wall. It snapped its jaws and fought against the pressure at its throat, and Robert was sure he could see wildness in its eyes that no police-dog should ever have. It began to bark, a wretched dry rasp as it struggled to maintain its balance on only its hind legs.

 

Sensing an opening, Robert pushed with all his strength, forcing the creature backwards. Bringing up his rifle, his finger curling around the trigger, he watched as a small explosion of red erupted from the dog’s side, and it yelped pitifully as it dropped to the floor. Still pressed against the wall, struggling for breath and trying to regain his composure, the indigo-haired Major turned to find Rei standing at the bottom of the hall, gun sighted on his position. “You okay?” The Neko-jin called.

 

He had to swallow several times before he could attempt a firm “Yes” and push himself away from the wall. He stared down at the dog, at its paws kicking helplessly at the ground, and fired a shot at its head. To Robert’s surprise, the skull remained intact but the dog fell still with one last, weak whimper. Turning back to Rei, striding hurriedly down the hallway, he nudged him out the door, closing it firmly behind himself. “Find something heavy and seal this door. There might be more.”

 

“I've never been a dog person, but **that** was not normal. What the hell was wrong with it?”

 

“I have no idea. Probably starved itself rabid, but we can’t be sure unless we know where the rest of the town is. From this,” he inclined his head back towards the hallway, “I suspect they didn’t just pick up and move on.”  
  
”The blood didn’t clue you into that before?”

 

“In regards to that...that..." He wanted to say dog but the word refused to leave his tongue, forcing him to settle with, "that **thing** , it could possibly have been rabies. It's **unlikely** , mind you, but it **could** be. And even if it was, I doubt even a hundred rabid dogs could take out all the people in town. Something else happened.” Robert shifted his eyes to Tala, who had appeared silently sometime during their discussion and had been quietly listening. “Did you find anything?”

 

Rei moved away and towards the front room, knowing he would not be able to properly barricade the door without some help. Tala shook his head at his superior, then reconsidered. “I found a laptop and a locked filing cabinet, but I couldn’t find any keys. Since there are no bodies to search and probably no power in the laptop, it doesn’t account to much.”

 

“If Alpha Team is fine their radio-man might be able to figure something out with the laptop. As for the filing cabinet, I do believe Johnny has a magical way with locks. Go take him to the room and see if he can open it. Rei, Enrique and myself will set about barricading this door closed.”

 

Nodding, Tala retrieved Johnny and led him into the first office, giving him Robert’s orders as the older redhead inspected it carefully. “Think you can open it?” He asked after a moment.

 

“Sure.” He indicated for Tala to take a step backwards as he removed a knife from its sheath on his belt. He gave the drawer one last experimental pull, then lined up the knife tip to the lock. Taking a small step backwards himself, he gripped the handle and slammed the flat of his free hand against the hilt. He did this two or three times, gave another testing jiggle of the knife, and upon finding it almost immovable, he cranked it hard to one side. The sound of the lock grinding against metal and a satisfyingly quiet click alerted them that it was no longer locked. Johnny turned to Tala and sent him a smug smirk. “See, since this is a cop-shop it doesn’t matter if they have filing cabinets with a cheap-ass lock. Who’s going to be stupid enough to break in here in the first place?”

 

Tala rolled his eyes and gave silent applause, unable to help smirking at his peer’s arrogance. “Well since you unlocked it, would you care to do the honours?”

 

“Fuck no, my work here is done. That'll be $40.”

 

Rolling his eyes skyward once more, Tala nudged past him toward the cabinet, gripping the handle and yanking it forward almost enough to pull the drawer out. The first thing he noticed was that while the drawer was opened, Johnny had not exactly picked the lock so much as he had forcibly torn it free from its holdings. The second thing he noticed was the head full of soft china-blue hair. “Holy shit…”

 

“What the…is that…is that a kid?” Johnny watched with bemusement and slight disgust as the slender redhead by his side reached into the drawer and began carefully trying to extract the small child from the tight confines. When he had her securely within his grasp he lowered himself to the floor, cradling the frail body in his arms. “Who the hell locks a kid inside a filing cabinet?”

 

“I don’t know, but you better go get Rei…she looks sick.” Even as Johnny rushed quickly from the room, yelling for Rei to move his ass pronto, Tala found he didn't need to be a doctor to know the child’s odds of survival were slim, if not non-existent. Her skin was the color of bleached paper and looked equally as fragile, her small body shaking violently in his hold and he placed the back of his palm on her forehead. She had a fever, how high only Rei would know. He gave her shoulder a gentle shove and it took a few moments for her eyes to flicker open. He inhaled sharply. The eyes staring up at him were not the eyes of a child, not even a sick one. All of the color seemed to be washed out of them, leaving nothing behind but the black pupil surrounded by a ring of ivory. “What’s your name?” He forced himself to ask.

 

“…M-Missy.” She could barely speak, and sounding more like a wheezing old woman.

 

“Hi Missy my name is Tala. How old are you?”

 

“Suh-suh-even.”

 

Rei entered the room, Robert, Johnny and Enrique standing a discreet distance behind, staring down at the girl. Rei himself took one look at the child, shook his head, and crouched down beside Tala while removing his backpack and opening it hurriedly. “What’s wrong with her?” He asked, arranging the things he would need to give her a quick check-over.

 

“She has a fever, but beyond that I have no idea.” He turned back her and forced a small smile. “Where are your parents Missy?”

 

“Dunno. When they came, mommy hid me in there; she said I’d be okay if I kept quiet…”

 

Robert winced and sent a glance over his shoulder towards the now closed-off holding area. “Rei?”

 

The male in question did not look up, continuing his examination as quickly as he could. He prompted her to open her mouth and was disconcerted to notice she had a hard time doing so. “Does your mouth hurt? Just nod yes or no.” He asked, placing a thermometer inside. She nodded. He took her arm and began checking her blood pressure, becoming increasingly more worried when he noticed how high it was. He looked to Tala. “Hold her still, I’m going to need to give her a shot and take some blood. I’ve never seen anything like this in a child before. If I didn’t know any better I’d say she was a 40 year old smoker with high cholesterol who was about to have a heart-attack.”

 

“You think it’s a disease?” Enrique broached tentatively.

 

“I won’t know until I can examine the sample.” Rei answered vaguely, pulling out the thermometer and checking her temperature. 115 degrees Fahrenheit. He blinked, shook it, and looked again. Still 115. _‘That can’t be right…’_ “Missy, my name is Rei…do you feel hot or cold?”

 

“C-Cold…very cold…c-can I have a blanket?”

 

No one had a blanket, but Robert was quick to remove his jacket and hand it to Tala, who awkwardly tried to hold the child and wrap it around her at the same time. What made it more difficult was that she seemed so weak she couldn’t even support herself and was reverted to nothing more than dead weight in his arms. Rei removed a hypodermic from his pack and a small glass bottle, and Tala tilted the little girls face away so she would not be forced to watch him prepare the injection. “Missy…who came?”

 

“Don’t k-know. Didn’t see.” She let out a weak cry of pain as the needle punched into her arm and the Neko-jin gave a wince of sympathy for her as he eased back the plunger, watching the white liquid swirl with crimson, before carefully pushing it back down, watching it disappear into her system.

 

Robert tapped Rei’s shoulder and in turn the ebony-haired male shrugged it off, placing her arm back inside the jacket and taking the other, using the same needle to extract a blood sample. Weakly he smiled at the girl, “You’re a brave girl Missy. We’re going to take you out of here, but maybe you should try to nap.” He stood up and left the room, Robert following closely behind.

 

Tala could hear them talking in the hallway as he lightly began to rock the small girl, feeling her starting settle in his arms. They all heard Rei’s estimation, but none of them, not even Johnny, wanted to believe that she would be dead within the hour. With a fever of 115 and blood-pressure of 162 over 87, he was surprised she was even breathing. _“I don’t want her to die Robert, but I don’t think there’s any more I can do other than euthanize her before her body does it on its own. The antibiotics I gave her are nothing more than a placebo with readings like those…I’m sorry.”_

_“So what should we do?”_

_“…I honestly don’t know. The humane thing would be to make her comfortable and stay with her until--"_

That was when the screaming began.


	4. The Unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” – H.P Lovecraft

Eddie had always considered himself to be a cool, rational individual - able to adjust to whatever situation he was thrown into and keep his head. That was why - when he first saw the glimmering between the darkening trees - he ignored it. He tried to think of all the things that could possibly reflect the setting sun, and as the list grew shorter and shorter he cautiously began to approach. He kept his weapon pointed downwards, not wanting to scare any civilian who may have escaped into the relative safety of the shadowed forest. “Anyone out there?” He called lowly, unsure why a feeling of dread suddenly began to roll in his stomach and seep beneath his skin, hairs and gooseflesh rising almost simultaneously. The physical reactions frightened him more than the emotions he could dismiss and a frown twisted his lips downwards as he mentally berated his stupidity while he repeated himself, more loudly, “Is there anyone out there?”

 

Even without a reply he allowed himself to be swallowed between the giant trees, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of life as he progressed onwards, hoping that someone would finally be able to shine a light on what had happened. He hesitated when the trees began to thicken, blocking out the lowering sun which glowed like fire behind him. Nervously he shifted his weight from foot to foot, contemplating returning quickly to the P.D and calling the rest of the team to join him on his expedition - or Tala, who at least had grown up near a forest - when he heard a soft sigh filter through the whispering leaves. Now he was certain there was someone in the woods, and though his gut called to him and told him to return to his squad, to fetch them before searching, his head cautioned that whoever it was might be injured, disorientated…might get lost and never be found. Sucking in one last breath, he pushed through the thorny bushes, tilting his body from left to right, passing between the trees as silent as a ghost.

 

He thumbed on the small flashlight fastened to the underside of his rifle and swept it around the area, hoping to catch the glimmer of reflection once more as he struggled through the tightly enclosed area. The silence that had stalked him through the town had followed his journey between the trees, and Eddie couldn’t help but wonder why the only noises he could hear were the soft brushing of leaf against leaf, the occasional twig snapping under some unknown weight, and the mollifying sighs that urged him onward. Tala was right, and even an ignorant city-boy like Eddie Wheeler knew that there was something unnatural about the stillness surrounding him. There should be birds, crickets, insects, anything to give life to the unnatural soundtrack.

 

He snapped around suddenly, gun raised and finger poised on the trigger as his eyes landed on nothing but more foliage. Shaking his head and sighing, dismissing the feeling that someone was watching him, he turned back and froze as he saw a pale figure disappear further into the woods just to his right. “Stop!” He called, rushing forward, and before he could realize what had happened he was falling into a clearing, landing hard on his elbows and wincing at the pain that flared in his ankle. He looked behind him, mentally cursing the snarled root that had snagged his foot, pushing himself up and turning back towards the figure before him. The first thing he noticed about the girl - for though the long crimson hair was scraggly and the hour-glass figure slicked with blood, it was unmistakably a woman - was that she was entirely naked.

 

“Ma’am?” He moved closer to her, dropping his gun to hang at his side as he fumbled to remove his jacket, propriety urging him to cover her up before taking her back into town. “Ma’am? Are you alright? My name is Eddie Wheeler, I’ve been sent here to find out what’s going on…” On and on he rambled, not even sure what he was saying, drawing closer to her, but she didn’t acknowledge him. She just kept moving forward, more of a stumble than a walk, sighing her soft sighs. Noticing that she was still not responding he forced himself to move faster, biting back a hiss at the increasing pain that shot through his ankle up with each step.

 

Finally she drew to a halt as her head tilted back and something in his mind associated the gesture with that of an animal scenting blood. She inhaled a long, hissing breath through her nose and as he stopped behind her, a wave of sickness clutched his stomach as the stench of rancid flesh flooded his senses. He touched the jacket to her shoulders, too confused to read the signs, his brain running on autopilot. “We have a medic back in town, come with me and we’ll…get…this…”

 

He trailed off as his mouth dried out and he took an instinctive step backwards, his hand dropping lifelessly to his side mere inches from the rifle, but using it was the last thing on his mind. A pair of angry red slashes extended from the corners of her torn mouth, but this did nothing to detract from the ferocious needle-like teeth that glittered like newly-shone pearls and protruded out from below her upper-lip, each of the four long fangs flanked by three smaller but equally delicate looking points. For an instant Eddie flashed back to his childhood and a picture of an Anglerfish from a book he had once seen in a dentist’s office. He remembered sitting in his seat, shivering with fear as his mother warned him that if he did not brush twice a day his own teeth would resemble the monstrous jaws of the carnivorous predator.

 

The ruined mouth opened in a hissing growl and he saw that the bottom row had only the smaller teeth, much more tightly compacted but surely just as effective as their counterparts. His eyes, scared to know but **needing** to see, took in the rest of her appearance. Now that she was facing him he could detect the mottled black taint her torso had become, fading into a pale grey at her ribcage and bleaching into smooth flawless ivory as it disappeared towards her back. From behind she had looked like a normal person, but now…her hands rose, seemingly in slow motion before his dazed eyes, and he could see where the skin of her fingertips had frayed as bone had pushed through the weak barrier and morphed into lethal looking claws.

 

The sight of her had thrown his logical mind back into the void and he found himself continuing to stammer out platitudes and half-hearted warnings for her to stay back, even as she launched herself at him with a deafening shriek, knocking him to the ground. He felt his mouth open in terror at the same instant a burning sensation zipped across his cheek and he was unsure as to whether he was screaming or not as her other hand came whizzing down through the air. Instinct kicked in and took over, he brought back his fist and slammed it hard against what should have been a cheek but felt more like a side of frozen beef, the sickening force of the blow ricocheting up his arm even as it sent her head jerking to the side. He drew back for another, deathly ashen eyes locking on deep brown as her head snapped around to face him and his fist froze mid-air as she lunged forward. He screamed as those needle-like teeth broke through the exposed skin of his arm and another of those burning pains raced down his chest as her claws made contact once more. Finally breaking free of his trance, he grasped desperately for his gun.

 

He could only imagine what would have happened to his neck had she hit her target - for those teeth were designed to latch onto their prey and immobilize them, clearly so she could slash away at her victim without resistance - and instead he now felt her yanking at the flesh of his forearm as he grasped the weapon trapped awkwardly between them. He forced the barrel up into her stomach and - disregarding his every lesson he had ever learned in training - unloaded a full clip into her torso, forcing her back with a screech of agony and a silver-dollar sized chunk of flesh from his forearm. Blankly he squeezed the trigger once more, stunned more by the fact that she still sat atop his waist than the empty click he received from his spent rifle. Blood dripped from her mouth and down her chin, a wild snarl rumbling from deep within her bullet-riddled torso. Gripping the barrel with his free-hand he brought the butt around, slamming it solidly into the side of her head, knocking her aside.

 

Shakily forcing himself to his feet he backed away, feeling blood ooze down his arm as he reached for a new clip from his belt. He felt it coating his fingers as he tore the magazine away, the fingers of his other hand fumbling to eject the spent clip while at the same time shoving the new one in. He didn’t feel pain from the bite - was in fact too horrified to feel any of the pain inflicted upon him by the creature that rose up before him, those ghastly eyes crazed with blood-lust.

 

A third eye appeared between the other two and for an instant it seemed as though she would continue to come after him, then her body collapsed slowly to the ground with a little tremor. He felt a hand on his shoulder but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the corpse laying on the forest floor, even as he two more hands grabbed his arm and begin to inspect it. “It’s not too bad, but she definitely got a good chunk. Eddie, are you alright? Eddie? **Eddie? Sergeant!** ”

“Keep away from her!” He yelled, sudden and frantic when he caught sight of Johnny approaching the corpse, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “She’s fucking crazy!”

 

“Crazy she may have been Eddie, but she is also dead.” Robert muttered lowly, his eyes travelling between the naked body and the bleeding male whose shoulder he held and who looked as if his legs might give out at any moment. He did not want to jump to conclusions - and he believed he knew Eddie well enough to know the strength of his values - but he still couldn’t help but ask, “Why is she naked?”

 

“Don’t ask me man, I have no fucking idea! I saw something moving around in here and came to find out what it was. I see her walking around and I go to give her my jacket and bring her back, bitch freaks out and attacks me! **Look** at this shit!”

 

“And it took an entire clip to subdue her?” The elder male retorted dubiously, nodding to Rei to begin tending to the vicious wound. Rather than continue to meet the frustrated eyes staring at him in disbelief he watched as the Neko-jin removed a small glass bottle from his pack, paying painfully close attention as he unscrewed the cap and prodded at the ragged hole in the otherwise undamaged forearm. Tipping the clear liquid directly into the injury, he frowned as thousands of tiny white bubbles erupted from where it had made contact.

 

“Eddie, how long ago did she bite you?” Rei asked, tearing his eyes away to meet Eddie’s curious gaze.

 

“You heard me hollering.”

 

“But that was only a few minutes ago…and your wound is badly infected. Did she look sick to you?”

“Did she look sick?” He snorted an incredulous laugh, shaking his head and wondering if somewhere along his journey into the woods he had stumbled into insanity. “Well Rei, I’ve never seen anyone with white eyes before, so yes, I’d say that made her look sick. Plus the mouth and those teeth, oh and the fact that she tried to tear my throat out and still came at me even after I unloaded a full clip into her gut. Didn’t even slow her down, come to think about it. Then I slammed my gun into the side of her fucking head, and I think the only reason that knocked her off me was cus she didn't see it coming. How's that for sick, Rei?”

 

“Sounds like she’s high on PCP to me. Keeps her flying so goddamn high she wouldn’t have felt a thing.” Johnny muttered over his shoulder, giving the girl a demonstrative kick with his booted foot. Not even a twitch. At this positive sign he dropped into a crouch and grabbed one of her wrists, drawing it away from her body as he felt for a pulse. The skin was cold and he could see no signs of drug-usage, but that proved nothing as far as the Scot was concerned. Junkies could prove to be very clever when it came to ingesting narcotics. He noticed the many mutations that had taken place but said nothing of them, knowing Rei would be better fit to make a diagnosis of what had happened to her. “Whatever the hell was wrong with her isn’t wrong now. She’s deader than shit.”

 

Tala stayed back, eyeing their surroundings and unable to forget the small girl waiting back in town. Maybe dead by now, but none of them had thought to carry her out to the woods with them. No one but him, and he had dared not raise the suggestion to the Major when the screams had started and everyone had bolted from the room, searching for Eddie. It had been mere luck they had been able to find him, for if not for his terrified screams they might never have located the small clearing. They had all seen the woman before he had taken the shot that had put her down and - though he was sure he would contemplate his first kill more in-depth later - Tala could not help but compare her to Missy, lying weak and frightened on the bloody floor of the police headquarters. The pale eyes were the only thing they shared in common, but they were enough to enforce the worry that there might be a disease…and that now Eddie might have it. Swallowing back his worry, he called to Robert, “We need to get the girl.”

 

“…there is no hope for her Tala, within the hour we’d be carrying nothing but a corpse. We can’t afford to be weighed down. I'm sorry.”

 

“No Major, **I'm** sorry, but I can’t afford a little girl dying alone on my conscience.” Tala rebutted, shaking his head as he turned away. “I’ll carry her myself the whole damn way, but I won’t just leave her there. Besides, what if she gets attacked?”

 

“Attacked by **what** , exactly? We have no idea what we are facing here, or where they are, or how many there are. For all we know they could be miles away.”

 

“I agree with Tala.” Enrique spoke up softly from his position at the edge of the clearing, offering the redhead something of an encouraging nod before he turned his eyes back out towards the underbrush. "We can take turns hauling her until..."

 

“I don’t care what you agree with Enrique, this is my decision. I won’t have half the team running back to town to fetch a dying girl. I’m sorry, but I cannot and will not let her jeopardize the safety of the squad or the mission. Tala! Get back here!” The redhead did not stop, breaking into a run as he disappeared into the thick foliage, and Robert growled and shook his head as Enrique made a move to follow. “Don’t you dare Giancarlo. I can’t afford to have two of you MIA.”

 

“What are we going to do Rob?” Johnny spoke up with a frown. "Can't let the rookie wander off alone for too long. That's how trouble starts."

 

“We’ll wait until Rei has finished treating Eddie. If he hasn't returned by then we will attempt to rendezvous with him back at the police station. But let me be clear: when this is over, Tala will be wishing he’d stayed at base and cleaned latrines with his tongue for a year by the time I'm through with him.”

 

* * *

 

 

Fear was perhaps one of the most deadly adversaries of a man in peril. It all traced back to the time when man was a curious cross-breed between primate and homo-sapiens, a creature that was wise enough to fear the night above all else because of the unknown predators that lurked in the darkness. The fact that his men knew what stalked them did not dissuade their fear, and Kai idly found himself wondering if H.P Lovecraft had ever truly considered the feasibility of a zombie apocalypse before the cancer that had wrecked havoc upon his intestines had defeated him.

 

He highly doubted it.

 

Allowing his eyes to trail around the room of men attempting – and in most cases, failing - to sleep, he frowned his disapproval. Sleep deprivation would do nothing but weaken their resolve further, and then he’d have to deal with more and more little spats and scuffles beginning over nothing and ending in nothing but bruised egos and hard feelings. Sleep deprivation and fear did not bode well for his ability to effectively control them either and he knew Lavalier was just waiting for his next opportunity to attempt a second mutiny and that Kinomiya was just desperate enough to go along with it. “Sleep, or you’ll be dead by the time your shift comes around…and just because we’re not on base doesn’t mean you’re going to get to sleep in. It’s business as usual.”

 

Even though one or two continued to feign slumber and the majority of the others didn’t bother to respond, Miguel Lavalier sat up to meet the bluenette’s blazing eyes with a grim stare. Aforementioned bluenette shifted himself into a more comfortable position where he leaned against the wall, preparing for the conflict he knew was to come. “Business as usual would imply we were all here Hiwatari. Brooklyn, Raul…they’re gone. How do we know who’ll be next?”

 

“ _When I lived, I provided for every thing but death; now I must die, and am unprepared_. Caesar Borgia.”

 

“Don’t give me that history shit, spouting off quotes about death doesn’t negate the fact that we are all probably going to die here, and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it because **you** won’t let us go home and leave this shit for someone else to deal with!” He met his commander’s gaze with a confident glare, and his hands balled into fists under the blankets. “Every single one of us feels the exact same way Kai, **we want to go home**! Why are you making us do this?”

 

"'Someone else to deal with'." He repeated curiously, arching a brow in mute enquiry. "'Someone else to deal with'." He murmured again, this time sparing a derisive chuckle at the words. "Who, exactly, should we allow to deal with this, Lavalier? Delta? Zeta? **Kappa?** What makes you think they'll have better luck?"

 

"I don't care."

 

Sighing at the slightly petulant retort Kai finally surrendered with a shrug, closing his eyes and tipping his head back to rest against the wall. "Fair enough. You want to go home, Miguel? Fine. Leave your rifle and ammo behind, but I'll let you keep your pistol out of the kindness of my heart. Let's find out how close to home you get. " He cracked open an eye and was pleased to see the words had left the blonde pale and trembling in mute fury. "I got some bad news for you, Corporal - in one week, maybe two, home isn't going to be so far away anymore. Whatever the hell those things are, they are spreading. You saw what they did in town, and you can see what they're doing outside right now. Darwinism in its purest form - survival of the fittest. As soon as they realize the food supply here is gone basic instinct is going to kick in and they will seek meatier pastures."

 

He paused to let the words sink in and offered the slender male the full brunt of a glower that was matched only by the ferocity of his smile.

 

"In simple terms, Lavalier, this might spread if we stay here and fight it - but if we retreat, it **will** spread. Then your family, your friends, your girlfriend - even the fat chuck who keeps ogling you at the mall and the store clerk who thinks you're too stupid to realize he's short-changing you every time you drop by...they'll all be like those things out there. Still want to go home and retreat from reality? Do **any** of you?"

 

A tired yawn was the first answer he received. Then an almost incoherent mutter drifted from one of the several corners of the room. “He ain’t speaking for me; if he was he would’ve mentioned that we should’ve hit the liquor store before we shacked up in this place.” Crimson hair unruly, teal eyes awash with sleep, Michael sat up and shook his head as if to dismiss his weariness. “Whose shift is it?”

 

“Papov and Ditsugaya are out in the hall keeping an eye on things. You still got a half hour, use it wisely and go back to sleep while you still can.”

 

“You let Shorty and Super-Wiz keep watch? Together? What’re they gonna do if something actually happens?” He paused for a moment, rising to his feet as he side-stepped a scowling Miguel, who had since folded his arms across his chest while his eyes revolved between the tired American and glaring Russian. “Ian’d probably blow up the entire mansion if he saw a butterfly, jittery little shit, but Kenny? He gonna talk ‘em to death?”

 

“They both have weapons and they both know how to use them. And I’m sure that without caffeine, Ian will find himself a lot less twitchy and trigger-happy.”

 

“I still think it’s a mistake, but what can you do? I wish we had some decent food man, I’m starving.”  
  
“Michael, you know we need to--"

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. ‘Supplies must be rationed’. But still, logic doesn’t stop my mind from taunting me with the reminders of a burger and a cool pitcher. Hell, I missed World Series for this, Yankees and the Red Sox. I had money riding on that game.”

 

Kai sighed through a smirk. Michael at least could be relied upon to never change and for the first time he was thankful for that trait in the face of the redhead’s ability to piss all over Miguel and his mutinous attempts to flee with such flippancy. “It’ll still be there when we get back…and if you don’t happen to return, I’ll be glad to collect your winnings for you.”

 

As Michael opened his mouth to reply the sounds of an explosion leaked in through the doorway and then moments later sporadic gunfire followed. If any of the men had managed to remain asleep through the explosion Kenny’s terrified figure throwing open the door and casting a long shadow into the room had changed that for them all. Panting for breath, watching the members of Alpha Team scurrying to prepare themselves, he stated the obvious. “They’re coming!”


	5. Survival

Night was moving in quickly, draping the small township of Midwich in thick shadow as Tala escaped the enclosure of the forest. In its current state he could almost pretend the inhabitants might still be in their homes, eating dinner, tucking their children into bed…he shivered and shifted the weight of the rifle on his shoulder, picking up the pace as he headed towards the police department where they had left Missy. But as he thought of the young girl images of Eddie's horrified face and ruined arm flashed in front of his eyes, and he shivered once more.

 

Maybe he should have listened to Robert and stayed with the team? The girl was a lost cause anyway, if Rei’s diagnosis was to be believed. And the last thing he really wanted or needed to see was a dead child…but some morbid sense of duty pushed and shoved him, refusing to allow him to let her die alone, scared and shaking, in a blood-stained police department.

 

Eddie had also been afraid, and wounded, but at least he was not alone.

 

For a moment he did nothing but stand in the looming shadow of the station, staring into its open doorway, thinking once again that maybe he should have listened to Robert as the realization suddenly dawned upon him: he did not want to re-enter that place. _‘Well, isn’t this a nice dilemma Tala. You separate yourself from the team to go see this kid, and now you don’t want to go in there and fetch her. Idiot.’_ He hated it when he was right. Taking a deep breath and readying his weapon, he walked inside.

 

The smell seemed even stronger than before, thicker, staler. “Missy?” He called as loudly as he dared, carefully passing through what remained of the barricade and kicking away the remains of the chair he had tripped over earlier. He stepped towards the door where he had left the girl. “Missy? It’s Tala…” He gazed around the room, frowning in confusion and worry when he could not locate her anywhere. She had barely had the strength to lift her head, let alone crawl away somewhere to die like a wounded animal…so where was she?

 

He felt the hair at the back of his neck prickle and for some reason he suddenly knew something was watching him. It made his throat squeeze closed and his breath stop, even as his heart started to hammer hard and fast in his chest. He thumbed the safety off his rifle, beginning a slow count of five in his head, trying to dismiss his fear as the silence around him broke with the sound of a low thump. He wanted to turn around but his body was frozen rigidly in place, stubbornly refusing to face whatever was behind him.

 

He thought of Missy as he heard another thump, laying helpless on the floor of the office, Robert’s jacket wrapped tight around her as she shivered and moaned, dying slowly from a disease Rei had never seen or heard of. He thought of her frailty, her inability to defend herself, her fear as something dragged her off into the shadows, stealing from her any last moments of peace as she died. It was this last thought that made him turn and proceed towards the darkness at the back of the room, stopping before the newly barricaded door.

 

A frown twisted his lips downwards as he saw the door rattle slightly and his finger subconsciously curled tighter around the trigger as he swallowed in an effort to loosen the knot in his throat. If he stared hard enough, he could see the slight trembles that shook at the haphazardly arranged chairs, used to block the door earlier by Rei and Johnny. Now, standing alone and listening to the deep thudding of the door and his heart, Tala began to wonder at how strong the barricade really was, and how long it would hold out. He wondered if that was how the people of the town had felt as they had stood behind their last line of defense, waiting and wondering what would happen to them.

 

 _“Tala, do you copy?”_ The sudden static-filled hiss made him jump and for a moment he thought his heart might have stopped. He could feel a cold clammy sweat beginning to coat his face, his neck, his back, and with trembling fingers he reached up to the small transmitter in his ear. His fingers slipped on the button once, twice, before he could finally press it, and for a moment, the noises behind the door stopped. _“Tala, do you read me?”_

 

“Tala here.”

 

_“Report. Where are you?”_

 

“I’m in the P.D…the kid’s gone...but…there’s something in here…” He realized he hadn’t taken his eyes off the door, had barely even found the courage to blink for fear that whatever was behind it might get out in that single split second, even though everything had been silent for several moments. A drop of sweat rolled down his brow and into his eye, and he squeezed it close in a wince as the salty liquid stung the sensitive nerves.

 

 _“Can you identify the target?”_ He could hear the concern in Robert’s voice, strengthening the faint German accent and carrying it across the line. The sound did not soothe him, quite the contrary - it made him even more nervous, because **Robert** was nervous. Robert never got nervous, never got scared. Robert was always calm and in control and knew how to deal with any situation…except this one.

 

The door jerked once more and Tala heard the cracking fracture of wood, and he realized his time might be running out. His voice came out low and shaky, “No sir, it’s behind a door…but I don’t think it’ll take long for it to get out.”

 

_“Get out of there, now! Run North into the forest, towards the crash site. We’ll move east, either encountering you on the way or at the helicopter. Now move out!”_

 

Tala began back-stepping away from the door, the pounding on the other side coming faster now, as though whatever was behind it knew he was there, alone, and it wanted him. But what had happened to Missy? Where had she gone? It didn’t seem to matter now, because he heard the weak creaking protests of the chairs and knew his time was almost up. He turned to the window, raising the butt of his rifle and slamming it against the boards, surprised at the ease at which the thin wood snapped. It was a good thing their attackers had not known this fact, otherwise…no, it had not mattered, they had been doomed from the moment they secured themselves inside.

 

He heard a loud clatter at his back and from behind the door there was a victorious howl as the door began to inch open, forcing back the broken chair and its supporting brethren. Tala froze, gaze fixated at the ever widening breach and he suddenly realized how dark it had become by the shimmering moonlight filtering through the crack in the doorway. Now he could hear snarling, could see a large snout trying to jam through the gap, coated in blood that looked almost black in the moonlight.

 

And then another appeared, pearly white fangs glistening with thick drool as the sensitive nose sniffed hungrily at the air. The struggle for freedom was resumed with renewed ferocity and in an instant Tala found himself moving once more, hopping onto the narrow ledge and pushing himself through the window. He felt the earth fall from under him but his eyes were focused on the monstrosities that had finally freed themselves from behind the barricade. They looked like some kind of hybrid wolf-dog, but they were not. They had the same height, the same characteristics, but these were more feral than any wolf and their ruined bodies showed no signs of weakness.

 

Tala was afraid, and as soon as his back hit the ground he was rising to his feet, just in time to see the three hulking beasts staring back at him, their eyes flashing wildly. There was no warning given when one suddenly sprang forward, crossing the room in three great strides before throwing itself through the air and towards the window where he now stood. He brought his rifle forward in a wide swinging arc and heard a loud thwap as the butt of the gun struck the creature in the temple. It slammed against the side of the window, causing several of the remaining jagged shards of glass to imbed themselves in its body before it fell to the floor with a weak yelp.

 

For a moment his eyes stared between his rifle, the bloodied stumps of glass that remained in the frame and the room where the other beasts were cautiously advancing. Feral they may have been, but apparently not so stupid. He forced himself to back away, slowly at first, then gaining speed when he heard a series of pained whimpers emanating from inside the department. It was when the noises stopped he turned and broke into a run, not noticing the hulking form of the wild animal throwing its massive paws atop the ledge before propelling itself outwards, its counterpart following suit before they began to give chase.

 

* * *

 

 

They heard a screeching wail and Ian was screaming out a series of foul curses as they reached the doorway and Kai turned to find the short soldier on his back, his arms flailing wildly as he warded off blows from the attacker atop him. It continued to shriek in rage as its clawed hands drew back before slashing downwards, deflected again and again by the frantic thrashing of the man underneath it, but the resistance did not seem to deter the creature in the slightest - it seemed only to make it more determined, attacking faster and harder.

 

He took a step towards the vertically challenged male and he heard a grunt of pain as Michael’s broad frame crashed into him and sent them both sprawling to the floor. Automatically the winded redhead rolled off to the side as Kai flipped over, only to see Miguel face a similar fate as his body was thrown over the railing by a single blow from the hulking form rushing towards Tyson, systematically incapacitating the team one by one. “ **Open fire**!” Kai yelled to be heard above the din, almost completely drowned out by the frantic curses from Ian and Miguel. It was in this moment he realized the only man left standing was Kenny and watched as the trembling tech raised his rifle and let off a few shaking bursts. The bullets sailed wide of the mark but it served in causing the massive form to turn. “Get up!” He hissed at Michael as he pushed himself to his feet before charging the towering cadaver.

 

He felt his right shoulder connect with pure muscle and was momentarily stunned when the creature remained utterly impassive, and then someone crashed against his back and all three fell to the floor in a great heap of flailing limbs. Kai was vaguely aware of boots dashing past his field of vision and he could hear Ian demanding that someone get the demented monkey off his back as the thing below them attempted to throw them aside. He could hear the redhead beside him grunting in effort as he landed blow after blow to the creature’s kidneys, not even slowing it as it bucked and roared in rage beneath them.

 

Miguel began to scream then, his voice high and scared. “They’re below us!” His fingers were beginning to throb at the insistent pull of his weight and he tensed his arms in an attempt to haul himself up, his eyes refusing to leave the ground floor where a small gathering of zombies had grouped together, arms raised high as they tried to grab at his booted feet. He was several meters above their outstretched hands, but should they smarten-up and form a kind of ladder, he’d be done for. Abruptly his strength failed him and his body jerked downwards, almost causing him to lose his hold on the rough wooden banisters. “Any time Hiwatari!”

 

Kai ignored Miguel as he examined the surroundings. He could see another of the beasts charging towards the ruined remains of the right staircase, its large muscles rippling with each great stride it took as it advanced towards them - easily flinging aside any of its frailer brethren who happened to be in the way. “Kinomiya, suppressing fire! Slow the other one!” He ordered, watching Ian hurry to the front of the beast on the ground. He saw the shorter man grab something from his belt and force it into the beast's mouth, and instinctively he jumped back, pulling Michael with him. The monster was on its feet immediately, but before it could steady itself Kai kicked hard at its leg, sending it toppling backwards and over the railing, almost taking Miguel down to the floor with it, where it landed upon several of the creatures below.

 

Grabbing one arm and finding Michael at his side taking hold of the other he gave a brisk three-count before they hauled Miguel - gasping and cursing - back onto solid ground. At the same time he commanded those who were still standing to put down the second brute there was an explosion of blood and limbs, chips of the marble flooring acting like shrapnel as they flew towards all sides of the room, embedding themselves in the walls and sparse furniture. For the longest time it seemed as though they would be fighting the same scenario once more as the hulking creature drew closer and closer, slowed only a little by the hale of bullets ripping at its flesh, before it finally collapsed at the head of the stairs, thick black blood oozing from its wounds.

 

Shaking his head, he turned to the American by his side. “Michael, you and Miguel take up watch. Tyson, take care of Ian, those are some pretty nasty cuts. Kenny, you get back to trying to fix that damn radio.” His eyes followed the violet-haired midget into the room, acknowledging his protests that the wounds looked worse than they were but shaking his head to the request of returning to keep watch. It didn’t look like they’d be sleeping any time soon, Kai mused. That attack had almost defeated them, and it certainly hadn’t done anything to improve morale.

 

He checked his watch. If the back-up didn’t make it within the next six hours they would have to make a run for it, back through the overrun woods - where all manners of nightmares and grotesqueries awaited - and into town in the hopes of rendezvousing with them there. Kai knew that if it came to that not all of them would make it.

 

* * *

 

 

He ran.

 

He ran as fast as he could through the underbrush, a strange tightening forming beneath his ribcage and his stomach lodged in his throat, sending urgent warnings to his brain that if he didn’t stop running soon, he would throw up. But he couldn’t stop, straining his ears above the sound of his heart thundering and his heavy gasps for breath as branches mercilessly whipped at his face and hands as he shoved his way through. His lungs heaved and strained for more oxygen that they could not hold, and any that he did receive seemed to burn in his ribcage like a noxious gas that threatened to stop him from breathing at all.

 

Growls and crackling leaves and snapping twigs and unintelligible groans seemed to echo all around him but he dared not look around, for he knew he would see creatures in the shadows between the trees, a hundred pairs of glowing ivory eyes drained of life all focused on him. He didn’t know how long he’d been running, only that he hoped he was heading north as Robert had directed. The darkness had made reading his compass while running neigh impossible, and the trees too seemed to conspire against him, shielding him from the ethereal glow of the stars.

 

The ground was beginning to morph beneath his feet, sinking underneath his weight while at the same time robbing him of the resistance needed for him to keep his fast pace. He felt himself falling forward as his booted foot glanced across a large slick rock and his weightless body was spinning around, and for a moment he caught a glimpse of the bushes parting as his pursuers burst through the foliage, ready to tear him to shreds with their long, dripping fangs.

 

He was ripped from his thoughts as his body was engulfed by an icy chill and he was dragged downwards by the current of the river, instinctively he began to kick and thrash, trying to force himself above the rushing water. Normally, this would not have been a problem for Tala - having run through this scenario countless times during basic training - but now his gun was not secure in his grip and losing his weapon would be a far worse fate than to drown in the freezing water. His clothes were soaked through and in the back of his mind he knew every pierce of gear he carried was simply weighing him down, keeping him under.

 

Already tired from his sprint through the woods he entertained the idea of simply surrendering to the river and allowing himself some rest, but that notion was dismissed as soon as he realized he had thought it. He had no reason not to fight, no secret loathing of himself or dissatisfaction with where his life was heading. Kicking with renewed vigor, he forced his eyes open and secured the strap of his rifle around his wrist. For a moment he felt the pressure around him ease and he quickly swallowed in as much air as he could hold, not trusting his body to be able to keep him above the violent surge of the stream. Sure enough, it forced him back under, and this time he concentrated hard, pushing himself forward. Unsure of which way he was going he propelled himself through the raging water, knowing that sooner or later there had to be land.

 

His shoulder was jerked hard and a surge of bubbles erupted as he yelled in pain, his free hand forcing through the water in an attempt to find out what had halted his progress. For a fleeting moment he thought he felt fingers threading through his hair but his rational mind screamed that it could not be true, and as the gnarled warped root brushed against his fingers, he prayed his luck would hold. He shrugged his trapped arm, trying to free himself from the root that he might hoist himself out and after a few desperate fumblings he felt his weight lighten as his body was dragged forward once more.

 

He grabbed another root with his remaining hand, using it to draw himself towards the safety of the trunk, his feet kicking aimlessly at the tangle, hoping to find secure footing. His clothing, body armor and gun seemed to try pulling him back into the rapid undercurrents and it took every ounce of strength he could muster just to hoist himself halfway onto the fallen tree. He glanced quickly over his shoulder as a howl erupted from behind him and in the distance he could see the mutilated mutts pawing nervously at the edge of the river, gnashing their jaws as their heads turned this way and that, scouring the opposite shoreline for sign of their pray.

 

With a sigh of relief he pulled himself to the muddy shoreline inch by inch on his elbows and knees. His armor would be filthy, he thought distractedly, but at the moment that was truly the least of his worries. He flopped onto his back and pulled in a few deep breaths of crisp forest air, not daring to close his eyes even as the dim light from the stars blurred and the treetops swirled before his vision. Laying there, his heart pounding and his body shivering, he allowed himself the relief of knowing he had survived…barely.

 

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he was awoken by a soft crackling from nearby, his eyes rolling and hands blindly reaching for his weapon, even as he realized that it was simply his radio, and that someone was trying to contact him. He reached up to his ear, pushed down the button, and whispered, “Identify yourself.”

 

* * *

 

 

Back in the mansion Kenny startled and tore a bloody trail across the pad of his index finger as a fuzzy, distorted voice broke the silence in the small security room. He dropped the screwdriver and carefully grasped the talkie of the fragile machine that was now a jumble of loose wires, duct-tape and bullet holes. “This is Dizzy, radio controller of Team Alpha. Identify yourself, over!”

 

_“This…olf.”_

 

“Our radio was damaged in a firefight, I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch that, over. Repeat transmission.”

 

 _“This is Team Delta scout Wolf.”_ The voice obliged. _“I have been separated from the team, but last I saw one man was injured. Have you…”_

 

Kenny slammed his fist on the table in frustration as once again the transmission faded into crackles and hisses, but instantly regained his composure as he realized that the slightest tap could destroy his past hours of careful repair. He did not have adequate tools to make the radio as good as new, and so he clenched his fists and once more pressed the button. “You have one man injured Wolf, but the rest was lost in static. Please repeat, over.”

 

_“Have you encountered a medical bay in the mansion?...till there right? Over.”_

 

“Yes we are still there, and yes there is a medbay here. With your teams support we could probably clear the path there. Do you know your location? Over.”

 

_“No, just…of river…Delta going to crash site…directions to mansion? Over.”_

 

“North. Just head North…and watch out.”

 

_“Roger, on my way now…keep the doors open for me, over.”_

 

Unable to help himself, the brunette allowed himself a small smile of hope. “Affirmative Wolf, we’ll have the door open and a cup of coffee waitin’ for you. Just…make sure they don’t bite you. Over.” He remained there a few moments, waiting for a response, before slowly placing the receiver back on its cradle and resigning himself to more work.

 

What he failed to consider was that while he had guessed at much of what Tala had relayed rather than constantly ask the other to repeat himself, the redhead had done the same thing.

 

* * *

 

 

If he never saw something as ugly as this again in his life, it would be too soon. The creature lying before him must have stood at about 6'8 or 6'9, and taking a random guess he placed it to weigh between 225 to 275lbs. The thick, muscled arms and bared torso were strewn with bullet holes and from each one a slow trickle of black blood oozed out and trailed across the beasts hulking form. Comically, its legs seemed ridiculously emaciated in comparison, and while the head was roughly the size of a normal human's it was grotesquely disfigured as lumps of bone and muscle bulged obscenely from the forehead and cheeks, making the lower jaw seem almost invisible. Blank, milky irises stared up at him and had Kai been a lesser man he might have shivered at how the beast could still look so dangerous, even in death.

 

“LC, why the hell you staring that thing out?” Michael muttered lowly as he strolled from one of the darkened rooms down the hallway, slowly approaching the bluenette who turned to look at him. The crimson eyes almost seemed to stare through him for a moment, but the redhead brushed that thought away as he stopped beside his commanding officer and dropped his eyes to the mass of muscle sprawled across the top steps. “What the fuck was that?”

 

“I have no idea, but I hope we don’t run into more of them. They came as a pair - there could easily be more.”

 

At that, the redhead gave a shaky laugh and glanced over his shoulder. “Told you we shouldn’t trust Ian with the explosives, the jittery little asshat. Did you see him stick that nade in the things mouth like shoving an apple in a pig? It could have taken his damn arm off!”

 

Kai nodded but didn’t glance back at the monster lying at his feet. “How is he? It looked like that thing was going to tear him to ribbons.”

 

“It got him pretty good, and without a medic…I mean we all know the basics, but some of them were pretty deep. Might need stitches.” Here Michael sighed and gave a weak kick to the hulk-like form, unsurprised when it didn’t move even in the slightest. “You know how to do that?”

 

“Sure, but it won’t be pretty, and it won’t heal clean. He’ll have the scars to remember it by.”

 

“That’s the least of his problems…you think that thing could have…well…I dunno…”

 

Kai smirked slightly and lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose as he felt the pressure begin to build behind his eyelids. He’d been having these migraines a lot recently, and had considered wearing sunglasses 24/7 to protect him from the light that seemed to set off a marching band in his brain, but he had decided against it. He hated sunglasses. “You think it may turn him into a zombie?”

 

“…quit making me feel like a retard.” Michael hissed with surprising sharpness and the tone caused the bluenette’s eyes to snap open and a slate brow to rise in surprise. “You saw all the same shit I have Kai, that we all did. I don’t fucking believe in zombies, okay? I fucking hate those movies, but I know what I goddamn saw and what I saw was a bunch of dead fucking people walking on sunshine trying to rip our fucking throats out!”

 

Kai said nothing, allowing Michael his freak-out without reproaches. He would neither confirm nor deny the redheads fears - not that he needed to, it was obvious - his eyes never leaving the broad male as he turned in a small circle, pacing and muttering to himself. He caught the phrase _‘…believe this fucking shit...’_ and shook his head. No, for the time Michael was his only back-up, the only one who even remotely stood a chance of holding himself together long enough to find out what had happened. He could not afford to alienate him. He waited in silence, watching and folding his arms across his chest, his hip on the railing as he waited for Michael to slowly regain his composure.

 

“…sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologize. I’m happy you did that here instead of in there…Michael, the others are weak. You know it, I know it. Kenny is a mechanic with a gun he can build blindfolded but barely knows how to use, Tyson is unreliable, and Miguel couldn’t be more of a coward in my eyes right now if he had screamed at the sight of a spider. Right now Michael, you are the only one I can rely on to help me keep this shit together. That's why you're my second. They’re going to look to you when they feel they can’t measure up to me--”

 

“Yeah, you’re **so** awesome, you vain bastard.” Michael scoffed with a grin.

 

“--so I need you to appear as cool and collected and all knowing as I do.” He gave the redhead a hard stare, and slowly extended his hand to the other male. “Do you have my back on this?”

 

There was a long moment when Kai thought that Michael was as much a lost cause as the others, and as he took a deep breath to dismiss the redhead he felt the larger hand grasp his tightly and tug him forward. “Don’t I always?” Was the rueful mutter he received.

 

* * *

 

 

Tala wondered if the mansion was located near some mountains, because every once in a while he would feel an icy blade rake over every inch of his dripping body as a sharp gust of wind blew by. Now that he was following the river northward he had noticed that the tree line did not flank the river. The few that had probably suffered the same fate as the tree that had saved him from drifting further downriver, and had felt the soft, muddy earth crumble beneath their mighty trunks and topple into the current, to be swept downriver unless snagged by an outcrop of rocks. Now, as he tried to remain as alert as possible whilst ignoring the bone-numbing cold that made his teeth chatter, he would scan the shrubs and bushes that led towards the trees every once in a while, but everything was deathly quiet.

 

He didn’t know how long he’d been walking; only that his already aching feet had since started to blister, and his tired legs felt as though each muscle was pulled as taut as a bow string. He found it difficult to stay focused, and on more than one occasion he had slipped or stumbled over his own feet, hearing the shadows in the woods and feeling the eyes of a thousand invisible predators.

 

But all that came to an abrupt halt was suddenly confronted by a sharp bend in the river that led westward and to his right a well-beaten footpath that led into the trees. He debated on crossing through the river and continuing North, but his body instantly threatened to rebel and fail him should he force it back into the freezing rapids. He would be able to stand neither the cold nor the force of the strong current, and his body would not save him again. It ignored his minds warnings of creatures in the woods and led him onto the path - and into the darkness.

 

He was sure there were things in the woods, but his logical mind told him that that was not true. Perhaps it was simply the cold beginning to affect his mental capacities, making him see and hear things. He didn’t believe it, but knew that if he pretended to, he might be able to make it to the mansion. Who had walked such a worn path? He wondered. Perhaps hikers? No…hikers wouldn’t be allowed so near to Biovolt's facilities. Maybe by staff on their lunch breaks…did scientists even get lunch breaks? And even if they did, why would they spend it outside when they could stay locked in their obsessively clean and neat labs where they could play with germs and create medicines and cures for diseases most people had never even heard of?

 

He felt the ground change under his feet, transforming from uneven and slightly sloped into flat, smooth concrete. He couldn’t see much, but he paused and stared up at the sky. It took him a few moments to locate the North Star, shining as brilliantly as a freshly cut diamond nestled in dark velvet, and he praised his body for deciding to walk the path over fighting the river. Had he not chosen the path, he realized as he carried on walking, he could have been stuck wandering the woods outside the facility for days or even weeks…if he lasted that long and encountered no more of the strange, rabid dogs he had come so close to dining with back at the police station.

 

Suddenly the giant trees were gone and all around him a well-manicured lawn stretched out as far as the eye could see. And behind that, like a cliff seen from a boat, lay the mansion, its grey stone a dull beacon in the blackness. He stopped walking and did a 360 of the surrounding area, freezing in place as he saw the way he had come. Starting at the edge of the road was a wall, a very tall wall, and had Tala not known any better he might have suspected it had been hewn directly from a mountain. But no…he could see the slender slashes of mortar that marred the tightly packed bricks. He could not guess how high it stood and knew only that if he cloned himself twice and stood atop the shoulders of his clones, his fingertips would still not touch the top. It appeared to be the same type of brick as the mansion, but he could not be sure from the distance and lack of illumination.

 

Between the walls was a tall wrought iron gate that Tala hadn’t opened, but it only took him a moment to see why that didn't matter. The top of the gate rested slightly shorter than the walls and as far as he could see it closed until the flat edges of metal rested perfectly against one-another. At least, they **did** rest against each other until you caught sight of the bottom half of the gate, which was bent and torn open, the bars folded back on one another and resembling several pairs of large, lean elbows. It appeared he had walked right through the hole without even noticing, which sent a slow chill down his spine. What else hadn’t he noticed? He slapped himself quickly to rectify that problem, and cursed as his chattering teeth responded by nipping the tip of his tongue in a quick, sharp ‘clack’.

 

In the otherwise silent estate, the expletive sounded as loud as an explosion. And that was when the shadows moved.

 

* * *

 

 

“Damnit.” Ian whined as he felt the needle pierce his torn flesh once more, gritting his teeth and peering at Kai through a slitted eye as the bluenette patiently stitched together a particularly deep slash across the shorter male’s chest.

 

“Tell me again Ian.” He prompted mildly. “What happened after we left you and Kenny on watch?”

 

“We were out there…you know I can’t talk to that guy. We’re opposites. He talks about all these sound waves and frequencies and how delicate the mechanics of a seagull taking a shit in the ocean are and whatnot. I don’t care about that shit, I like bombs and women and cars and women and…Well we weren’t talking, but I hear a noise. I thought it was him…I dunno. Asthma or snoring or something, it was like a hiss. But not like a snake hiss y’know? Like a…hiss hiss, I guess.”

 

“Mmhmm, go on.” Kai urged, not really listening but attempting to keep the other distracted. The last thing he needed was a squirming patient. He’d only ever had to stitch a wound once and that had been on himself when he'd had a rock-climbing accident. To his count it had taken 33 stitches to stop the bleeding at his thigh, though he was sure a professional would have needed less.

 

“Well anyway so I lean over and punch his arm, just to wake him up y’know? But the thing is, he burps. He fucking **burps** and spins around to face me, looking at me like ‘what the fuck you do that for?’ But the hissing is still going on. He can’t shoot worth a shit, you know. I seen him on the range. He’s lucky if he gets one in a full clip to even hit the target. So I tell him to stand still and I’d go check it out. It was coming from the left hallway, I remember that. I was walking down there, turned my flashlight on, but couldn’t see shit. Wasn’t nothing there…but I was like…right on top of that noise.

 

That’s when I felt something knock me to the floor and start clawing at me. It was like it had fucking razor tipped fingers, it shredded right through my shit…wish I’d left the vest on--but damn I thought it was fine, those things didn’t seem to have any weapons after all…but this thing just **raped** my Goddamn ass! I couldn’t do shit, and I tried to flip over and I was yelling at Kenny to go get help and it just kept slashing OWMOTHERFU--” Ian erupted loudly as Kai snapped the thread. He let out a low growl as the bluenette sat back on his haunches and continued to inspect his chest. “It just kept coming.” He finished.

 

“I didn’t take a good look at it…Michael told me some of these were pretty bad, but after we’re done I’ll go have a look at the corpse. See how diseased it looks.”

 

To Kai’s surprise, the shorter male shook his head and he was sure he had seen the already pallid skin turn a shade paler. “No, just leave it. Fuckin’ thing probably got dragged off for eating by now…not worth the risk. I think we should just barricade ourselves in here boss, wait for the cavalry. Blowing up the stairs didn't do shit - that huge fucker just pulled itself right on up...shit is just getting worse and worse.”

 

“Sir?” The soft whisper drew Kai’s attention from the obviously frightened explosives expert and he turned to Kenny expectantly. “We uhm…we received a radio transmission sir, from Delta. They’re on their way.”

 

Kai nodded and closed his eyes, wondering if the feel of a migraine throb felt similar to a baby kicking in the womb, and guessed that the kick paled in comparison to the pain he knew he’d be enduring throughout the night. “How far out are they? And did they say how many?”

 

“Well…that’s sorta the other news sir. I don’t know.” He began backpedalling as the bluenette rose to his feet and he was quick to raise his hands defensively in front of himself. “S-Sir the radio was barely receiving any signal at all, I could barely understand what he said…I was only getting a few words…but he said he had been separated, by what I don’t know, but he said he was by the river. I told him to keep heading north and he’d make it. Please don’t hurt me.”

 

The frightened plea made Kai stop and he discovered his hands had been balled into fists, and he stood almost directly in front of the smaller mechanic. He cleared his throat slightly and nodded, straightening and clasping his hands behind his back. “Fair enough. Go and check the security cameras, see if any of them still work and if we can get a visual. We might be able to spot him coming in and meet him before he bumps into any of the things we did.”

 

* * *

 

 

Unfortunately for Tala, he had already drawn a host of unwanted attention to himself. It had all started when he had let out that damnable expletive when he had bitten his tongue and now as he ran he could taste the raw metallic tang burning at the back of his throat as he gasped for air. Training had not prepared him for this sort of stuff. A high-pitched roar had rung around the empty courtyard and figures he had previously not seen began rising shakily to their feet, as if disturbed from a peaceful slumber. He knew right then that running was the only option, and he had not waited long enough to see how many more would rise before taking off at a sprint that would have put a star track athlete to shame.

 

He tried following the road towards the mansion that lay ahead but it suddenly broke off as he reached a large fountain encircled by benches, and the paths deviated offering him the options of left and right. Seeing the increasing mob that was racing along the right path, he threw himself towards the left, pushing himself as hard as he could and hoping there would be some kind of entrance on the other side. He allowed himself to gaze longingly at the mansion, so close and yet so far, and was distraught to see that the face of the building was in fact not a face, but what most would consider the back of the estate…strange.

 

Before his eyes the shape of a building began to form in the murk and he wondered if he should run there instead…it was closer, and had to have **some** kind of entrance…right? But why were the walls glittering? And was that a light? He drew closer and closer, hardly noticing the smooth stone under his feet had turned to slippery, dewy grass, and he groaned as he realized that the building was a greenhouse and - to judge by the broken walls, it had far too many entrances.

 

There was a loud screech, and his inexperience caused him to falter and snap around. The world spun, his feet twisted around one another and he felt himself impact with the grass hard. Though slippery and with very little traction, the grass was not all that soft, and instinctively he curled in upon himself as he felt the wind force its way out of his lungs. He gasped and rolled over onto his stomach, struggling for air and urging himself to rise, quickly, before they caught up with him. He could hear their feet pounding on the stone…they could not be too far behind.

 

What he came face to face with however forced all thoughts of the others from his mind as his eyes widened in horror. He assumed the thing before him was staring at him, but it was hard to tell when all he could see was the empty, blackened sockets of where the creature's eyes should have been. Through its ruined nose it emitted a low hissing breath while it nursed a growl at the back of it throat. Two inch long canines were bared at him, and it seemed every tooth was painted with the blood of some unknown victim. Tala calculated in an instant that the creature’s lack of sight obviously did not affect its ability to survive and, ultimately, kill.

 

And he was frightened.

 

The sound of footsteps were drawing closer.

 

When the creature before him leaped he dropped flat onto his stomach, instinctively throwing his hands onto his head and screwing his eyes shut. He heard the agonized shriek of a woman and gathered the courage to roll over, only to find the monster clawing viciously at a female on the floor who – instead of trying to push the creature off her - was returning the ineffective slashes and blows to the others head. The damage was minimal and didn’t seem to slow the thing at all as its elongated nails threw up thin streaks of blood into the chilly night air as it slashed again and again and again.

 

He got to his feet and backed away slowly, trying not to draw the attention of the thing atop the woman, or of the small group that had started to form and huddle around the wildly slashing beast, hoping to scrounge some leftovers, no doubt. That was when the low drone filtered through the air, and Tala recognized the voice from the radio. “Whoever you are, run around the back of the house! Someone will let you in! Go quickly, this will distract them! **RUN**!”

 

It became apparent to Tala as he began to run that Dizzy had been watching him, either from a window or from footage from one of what he was sure were many security cameras surrounding the area. Obviously he had been unable to recognize the redhead however, but he made sure not to take it personally. At least, not until he rounded the side of the mansion, still running on the grass to minimize the noise he made, only to find a much larger hoard stumbling into a standing position as they heard the sound of Dizzy’s voice echoing around the courtyard.

 

At this point he figured another few loud expletives couldn’t do any more harm. Especially when he heard the heart-stopping shriek of the monster from before. He gazed around, knowing he could not hope to run through all of those creatures and make it to a front door, nor could he turn around and run back the way he came. His eyes alighted on a long, thin strand dangling from what appeared to be a second or third floor window. He bit his lip, and swore to himself that he’d count to five before he made a choice.

 

He got to three when the shriek sounded once again - much closer than before - and he broke into a sprint. He wondered how many more times he would have to run for his life before the sun rose and it was with gritted teeth he made a running jump at the glittering barbed wire that trailed from the window. Unless his hopeful eyes were deceiving him, it appeared to have been smashed. He felt his palms slip as gravity pulled his weight down, and his left hand alighted with pain as one of the barbs tore through the palm of his glove and slashed the meaty flesh beneath. He hissed in pain but forced himself to keep climbing, trying to avoid the barbs but not always succeeding.

 

When a hand gripped his booted foot and yanked downward, he felt another barb tear deeply once more into his left hand. It released the wire with surprising carelessness, and Tala let out a startled yell as he gazed down into the eyeless face below him. He could feel his grip slipping, and he knew if his right hand was to slide across a barb, all would be lost. He would be found weeks from now when all the dust had settled, torn to shreds and covered in bites, probably with his brain missing…an arm too if the dogs turned up come to think about it…

 

The clawed hand tugged on his boot once more, and he swung his other foot forward, the steel-capped boot catching the creature off guard and directly in the temple. It feel back the few feet to the ground below with a pained shriek, and Tala took those few precious seconds to re-establish his grip and shimmy himself a foot or so higher. He could feel his left palm constantly sliding down the length of the wire, now slippery with blood and wondered how badly it was torn. He could see more of the things approaching, obviously scenting blood, and they extended their hands up to him. They didn’t seem to care they couldn’t reach; they simply assumed he would fall sooner or later.

 

Gritting his teeth, he tried to get a grip of the wire between the treads of his boots, and slowly removed his bloodied hand from the wire. Reaching down to his belt, he tugged off a grenade, stuck the pin between his teeth, and pulled. He did not contemplate the wisdom of this action, he simply acted, his body growing increasingly heavy as it began to realize exactly what kind of trauma it had been put through. He threw it down into the hoard beneath him and once more he made a desperate struggle to climb upwards faster. He kept his eyes steadily above him, forcing himself to keep the window ledge in sight, even as he heard the explosion and felt a burning pain shoot up his spine. He gasped and almost let go, but an image of the woman on the grass flashed in front of his eyes, and he tightened his grip.

 

The prongs of a barb stabbed mercilessly into the palm of his hand, but by now he was too close. He couldn’t stop. He didn’t care if he tore up his hands really badly, didn’t care much about anything; all he cared about was getting to the window. The wire finally ran up over the ledge, and cautiously, he adjusted his boots to once more attain some sort of grip – even if only for a moment - as he released the wire with his right hand and grasped the ledge firmly. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he thrust his left hand toward the ledge, and for a moment he felt weightless.

 

The next he was using his elbows to hoist himself inside the window, rolling inside head over feet, his back impacting with the bare hardwood flooring and sending yellow and purple spots exploding across his vision before waves of blackness rolled over him and threw him into unconsciousness.


	6. Lost...

He was sure there was a reason he had to wake up but he couldn't quite place his finger on what that reason was. It could have been the cold wet cloth that seemed to smother him, or maybe the burning pain that radiated in blunt pulses up his spine and into his slumbering brain. The only thing he was sure of was that when he awoke he was not where he had thought he was, and was not where he wanted to be. But the ideas of waking up on the icy mahogany floor once more, enveloped by the warmth of a lovers skin and the scent of their coupling was a fantasy at best. A dream he never allowed himself to believe.

 

So why then could he feel him there, hands stroking the skin at his hips and urging him to rise? He forced his eyes open as the memories flickered through his mind's eye like a disjointed flipbook, squinting as he strained to see in the darkness, but he knew he was alone. Inky shadows surrounded him and he strained his ears to listen for the sounds of movement as his hand fumbled in the pocket of his pants, his fingers curling around the lean stem of a flare. He knocked the cap against the wall beside him and winced at the sudden glare of harsh red light that banished the immediate murk and succeeded in almost blinding him as he grit his teeth and set about what he knew he had to do.

 

Quickly he trapped the flare between his bent knees, freeing his hands to pull open the flak jacket and then begin the almost painfully slow process of unbuttoning his shirt. With every movement he made his back would scream in painful protest, threatening to throw him back into the darkness he had just awoken from, and he squeezed his eyes closed as he finished, taking a deep breath to prepare himself for the pain he knew was coming before he slowly pushed himself onto his feet.

 

As he lifted his head to examine his surroundings more closely his eyes caught a brief glimpse of the world outside and he was overcome suddenly by a sense of vertigo so strong that it sent his head spinning as a low-pitched whine needled his inner-ear. He dropped his rifle and allowed his body to slump against the wall, barely managing to catch his weight by slamming his palms atop the ledge of the window as his knees crashed into the hard floor and pain bolted up his back. " **Fuuuuuuck**!" He hissed softly between gritted teeth, clenching his eyes closed while willing himself to calm down, propping his forehead against the cool wood of the ledge.

 

He teetered dangerously close to the edge of unconsciousness for what seemed half an eternity, trying to find his balance but always feeling himself stumble back towards the darkness. The gradual silencing of the soft drone was one of the first sensations that anchored him back to reality and coaxed his eyes open only to find himself immediately assaulted by the light still sputtering valiantly from the dying flare.

 

The second anchor helped him locate his rifle with numbed fingertips as he pushed his weight up with the other elbow to peer out of the window, down towards the carnage below. It was too dark to see much but what little he could make out in the gloom was more than enough to hit him like a bucket of icy water, and the thought of cold water made him shiver in his still wet clothes.

 

It made him think of the third anchor, the one that throbbed with painful consistency up the length of his spine and down to his hip. Even as he recognized what he had to do he bit his lip at the thought, his hand moving on autopilot to balance his rifle against the wall before sliding around to the source of the pain.

 

No matter how gentle and careful his touch his skin lighted with pain at every one and he pressed his forehead back down against the windowsill, forcing himself to keep going as he prayed his body would remember to keep breathing. The pain shifted frequencies when his fingers finally touched the wound itself, morphing from sharp and mild to deep, achy and constant. He tried to smother the soft noise that was half-pain and half-effort, fighting the urge to weep and nudging his fingers more firmly against the wound.

 

A strong shudder rolled through him when the already torn skin spread a little wider to allow the probing digits access - he wanted to scream and yell and cry like a baby, but with no one but the feasting creatures outside to hear and the possibility of bleeding to death or contracting an infection there was little to do but grit his teeth and power through it. That would have to do until he found someone else. _'Hopefully not Rei...he'll kill me for doing this.'_

 

Halting his hand to take a steadying breath he closed his eyes and hoped that a mental three-count would prepare him for what was to come but when he found himself reaching seventeen he squeezed his eyes closed and plunged onwards before his mind could catch up to his plans.

 

For the most part it worked - his brain didn't see it coming. His nerve endings, on the other hand, knew at once what he had done and were quick to try to dissuade him by wracking his fingers with tremors while they screamed in agonizing protest. His lungs strained beneath their desperation to take in more oxygen more quickly and he finally surrendered to the snarl of rage and pain that tore free of his throat, even as the sharp scrap of metal snagged the side of his thumb.

 

The buzzing started up anew and for a moment Tala feared he might pass out before he was done, changing the position of his fingers in the efforts of grasping hold of the steel and focused his senses on the pain, praying it would keep him anchored just long enough to rid himself of the shrapnel. He felt the slick fragment slip between his bloodied fingertips and swallowed down a curse as he renewed his efforts.

 

In the back of his mind he could hear Rei clucking in his motherly tone that he was being a fool, that if the wound wasn't bleeding he should leave the shrapnel be, that he was only making it worse. But Rei wasn't here to make him do the right thing and he gasped softly when his fingers pinched the fragment of steel between them and give it a demonstrative tug.

 

He hissed as he felt a sharp edge slicing through some unidentified flesh but there was almost no resistance and he slid it out with barely a hitch, letting out a slow moan of relief while taking the time to momentarily examine the shrapnel before casting it aside.

 

Step one complete. He allowed his head to fall back and rest against the window ledge, lifting a hand to rub the sweat from his brow while absently noting that for now there was no trace of fever. He could feel his heart settling back into its regular rhythm somewhere beneath his ribcage and he promised himself a few minutes of rest before proceeding with the next step.

 

* * *

 

 

_"He could be anywhere, man. Why the fuck are we doing this? We're never going to find him and..."_

 

Kai forced himself to ignore the low drone in his ear and cast a glance to the seemingly unperturbed American strolling so casually at his side he wondered if the other truly comprehended what his odds of surviving the night were. As if sensing the stare the teal eyes drifted over to regard him and the broad redhead's face broke into a grin as he lifted a hand to his ear. "I'll remember that when you get trapped in the shitter, Tyson."

 

_"Come on Mike...back me up...the place is freaking huge! He could be anywhere!"_

"No can do, buddy. Never leave a man behind, and always put the mission first. Another gun is always a welcome addition to any mission." He rolled his eyes but somehow managed to retain a playful grin when the only reply he received was a low and disgusted groan of defeat from the rotund bluenette. "You ought to keep it down man - they may not be too bright but they're certainly not deaf."

 

"I can hear him walking from here." Kai murmured softly beneath his breath, only half-joking as he reached up a hand to touch his ear and open all channels. "Until such times as he is found - one way or the other - maintain radio silence. That's an order." He switched frequencies after a round of quiet confirmations, "Report."

 

 _"Still no sign of him, sir."_ Kenny whispered, though why he would bother when he was still safely sequestered in the security booth was a mystery to his commander. _"He hasn't responded to my hails either. He might be unconscious or...well, worse."_

 

"Hn." He held up a hand to halt Michael in his tracks before tipping it out towards the ground floor to where they could see Ian carefully setting charges beneath the stairs. "The order of radio silence does not apply to you, Dizzy. You keep Papov appraised of all movement in his area, copy?"

 

_"Copy that. Maintaining visual on Ian and hallway six - the rest are cycling in twenty second intervals. If he's in a room with a camera we'll find him eventually."_

 

"Hn. What about the network? Have you found a backdoor into their system yet?"

 

_"I can liaise the SAR or I can get back to trying to breach the system security - I can't do both at once, unfortunately. Sir."_

 

"Recovery takes priority. Repair of the radio is secondary. If you happen to find the time--"

 

_"I'll work on it sir. Have to report in."_

 

Sighing at the realization that even while setting up overly elaborate booby-traps and fail-safe measures Ian was babysitting the inexperienced brunette he simply settled for running his hand through his hair and tossed his head off to the side in a silent command to walk. He had long ago given up reproaching the diminutive Russian.

 

Michael humoured him without comment, still grinning as he matched pace with his commander though his eyes never left Ian until they had rounded the wall and continued on down the corridor. They didn't bother trying the doors flanking both sides of the hallway - they had looked once already and found far too many of them occupied. Slowly, and with deliberate mildness, he murmured, "I think I remember seeing some empty hallways with windows upstairs."

 

"We'll get there when we get there." The bluenette replied, his tone curt and distracted. "Or Kenny will spot him and give us his location."

 

"Right." He agreed readily, nodding his head and lifting a hand to rub idly at the back of his craned neck as he stared at the ceiling. After another few moments of silence he broached, "So I noticed that you recognized the guy on camera. Old friend?"

 

"Something like that." Kai admitted after a long pause to consider the unspoken depths of the seemingly casual remark. "Tala Ivanov. He did the majority of his training under me, though he graduated to Robert's command."

 

"My replacement?"

 

That question was far too innocent for Kai's liking so he ignored it for the most part, sidestepping it as nimbly as he would dog-dirt on the street. "Primarily useful as a scout, or for picking off targets at range. We acquired Lavalier around the same time he was scheduled to graduate, so he transferred to Delta where he could be of more use."

 

"Bullshit." Michael claimed good-naturedly, his grin widening to release a muted chuckle as he shook his head and peered at the stoic Russian from the corner of his eye. "Cataphract are all about stealth and finesse, it's true - but there is no way I'm buying that anyone - let alone **you** \- would choose Lavalier willingly."

 

"And it's a badly kept secret how literally he trained under me." He acknowledged reluctantly, sighing and shaking his head in defeat. From the corner of his eye he saw Michael raising his hands in an ineffectual diplomatic gesture, his expression adopting a hitherto unseen severity.

 

"Hey, I'm not knocking it. Leaves more ladies for me." He was silent for a moment, chewing over his words and attempting to gauge the bluenette's mood by his flawless pokerface before asking, "That's the real reason he transferred to Delta, right? Not because he wasn't suited to Alpha but--"

 

"Correct." Kai cut off curtly, keeping his eyes locked straight ahead while memories of just how vigorously Tala had trained underneath him flashed in tantalizing vividness before his eyes. The fluttering, tentative touch of his fingertips, the insanely soft kisses bestowed by heavenly lips he had been unable to get enough of, the light licks and flicks of a tongue way too talented to belong to someone of Tala's relative age and experience. It took the majority of his focus to ignore his body's innate reactions to those thoughts, so much so that he barely registered the broad redhead's flinch at his brusque dismissal. "Why are we discussing this, Michael?"

 

"Because I'm curious." He admitted hesitantly, then his grin renewed itself somewhat tightly as a finger came up to tap his ear. "Plus I also know I'd rather be staring at him rather than Lavalier."

 

Kai allowed a small chuckle at that and nodded his agreement, but the amusement died when he remembered exactly why he had Miguel rather than Tala. He frowned darkly at the thought and tried to shake it from his head. "One of my superiors found out about our…relationship, if one could call it that. There were some very adamant suggestions that I was grading Ivanov so well because of skills unrelated to the job."

 

"Were you?" Michael asked before he could stop himself, shrugging when those crimson eyes shifted to cast him a flat, withering stare.

 

"If I was do you think he would have survived under Robert?" He watched as the American seemed to consider that for a moment before he shook his head firmly. "No, I'm sure you know better than I do how strict Robert can be. Would you like me to continue or can we conclude this without further discussion?"

 

"No, no. Don't mind me. Please, finish."

 

Kai tried to carefully arrange the remainder of his thoughts and memories into a cohesive conclusion, his frown darkening as he was forced to relive the situation he had done his best to bury and forget. "I honestly don't know the best way to tell you, Michael."

 

He shrugged consolingly. "The truth always works, no matter how bitter a pill it can be to swallow."

 

"Fair enough, I'll be blunt. A certain Brigadier General who shall remain nameless had very strong feelings about what she called, quote, fags in the military. Don't ask, don't tell doesn't apply in Project Peacemaker. We are required to disclose everything - to disclose all our secrets when we adopt theirs, as you well know. Because I did not disclose it she felt the need to hang one, or both, of us to set an example."

 

"…you let him hang?"

 

"What do you think?" Silence from the redhead prompted him to continue. "I did not feel the need to inform Ivanov that his training could be called into question - no report was ever officially filed, no investigation was ever truly began - and I promptly ended the relationship. He'd almost completed his training, but I understood perfectly when I received a transfer order requesting that he might finish what little remained of it under Robert. My career was not in jeopardy - I am too valuable an asset. Ivanov, on the other hand, was a new recruit. He was expendable, despite his promise." His head tipped to the side as he mused for a moment before he shrugged, fixing Michael in place with a sharp but cool stare. "I suppose I could have been selfish about the situation, that I could gamble on her willingness to press the issue, but I decided to be selfless for once. It appears I made the right choice."

 

Michael nodded mutely, mentally noting how the Russian had constantly referred to his former lover as Ivanov, just another soldier, and he pretended not to notice the longing in that crimson gaze, watching as he lifted a hand to his ear and demanded Kenny report. "One last question before we let the conversation drop?"

 

Kai knew it was being phrased as a request merely out of courtesy and that the redhead would ask him anyway, regardless of whether or not he consented. So he offered a curt nod and quickened his pace in the hopes of distracting his subordinate. "Go on."

 

"This unnamed Brigadier General…how'd she find out about you and Ivanov?" He caught sight of a slate brow cocking in curiosity and grinned slightly. "Come on man, give me some credit. I'm not that stupid. Don't ask, don't tell may not apply but she'd have to have something to go on. How'd she know?"

 

A small, sardonic smirk curled his lips at the one satisfying facet of his memories and he chuckled softly, shaking his head. "She showed up in the barracks in an unseemly state of undress, only to encounter me leaving his shower." The smirk widened when he heard the American laugh in disbelief. "If that wasn't bad enough Tala followed me out moments later to see what all the yelling was."

 

"So she was…?"

 

"Yes, she believed herself quite in love with him." He found his head tipping to the side of its own accord as he considered the statement, then shrugged in dismissal of it. "He told me later that it wasn't the first time she'd found her way into his bedroom, but he'd always managed to get her out unscathed."

 

"Maybe you can introduce me." He joked, grinning once more. "Maybe she's got a thing for redheads."

 

"I don't think she'll be foolish enough to make that mistake again, Michael." He paused in order to open the door that led to the stairs, casting a glance at his friend from the corner of his eye to assure he was following before he took the stairs two at a time. "The reason she demurred from initiating an investigation was prompted by reminding her that while being a fag in the military may be frowned upon, sexually harassing a subordinate was the worse of the two crimes."

 

"Sexual harassment? Really?"

 

Kai decided to curb the American's amusement by shooting him a glower over his shoulder when he came to the last of the stairs, turning and barring his progress while folding his arms across his chest. "Think of the situation in reverse, Michael. You enter your room to find me almost naked in your bed with a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates and rose petals scattered about the sheets. What is your first reaction?"

 

Michael faltered and stumbled back a step at the thought, then he laughed and shrugged the image aside. "You I'd ask politely to leave. Tyson, on the other hand…well, that might get a little loud."

 

"And if I **didn't** leave?" He encouraged mildly. "What then?"

 

"I dunno." He confessed after a moment, the grin falling somewhat at the realization that this was no mere mental exercise and that the bluenette had a crystal-clear point to make. He considered the question with renewed severity and then sighed. "I dunno what I'd do. I probably wouldn't handle it well, let's put it that way."

 

Nodding in satisfaction Kai stepped aside to allow the broad American to reach the head of the stairs, though neither of them made a move to proceed with the search. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned his hip against the railing while he continued to regard the redhead. "The first time it happened he brushed it off. The second time she was more aggressive - he found her in his shower. When he asked her to leave she refused. He handled the situation surprisingly well - he played his strengths, made her believe he was inexperienced and managed to get her out. But she always came back. It eventually got to the point where he actively avoided his own quarters for fear she'd be waiting."

 

"But she's just a woman." Michael tried weakly, shrugging once more. "He could have fought her off if he had to, right?"

 

Kai arched a single brow and shook his head pityingly. "And how would he explain striking a superior officer? A **female** superior officer? By telling a convening authority - most likely an experienced male officer - that he was being sexually harassed by her? Look at how you reacted to the suggestion. That is why he never reported her inappropriate conduct. He's a man, he should be able to handle it. And I have no doubt that she was only encouraged by his unwillingness to cause trouble."

 

They walked in silence for a time, prompted by the fact that every time Michael opened his mouth to speak the bluenette would make a point to stop and examine something - a locked door, an overturned table, some smear of blood streaked across the whitewashed walls. Finally he forced himself to just spit it out, regardless of whether or not his superior would meet his gaze. "Things going to be alright between you two?"

 

"Ivanov is pragmatic, if nothing else." Kai replied with surprising ease. "We've bumped into one another from time to time since his graduation. Conversation is somewhat stilted and cold, but even under normal circumstances he has proven that he can remain professional in spite of any hard feelings he may be harbouring. Which is more than I can say for half of this team."

 

"Can't wait to meet him." He quipped lightly. "Now if only we could find him."

 

* * *

 

 

"This is a bad idea on so many levels." Enrique whispered beneath his breath and around the flashlight clutched precariously between his gritted teeth, blinking away a bead of sweat from his eyes while struggling to identify the wires of the truck in the flickering beam of light. "Never should have come back here."

 

In spite of his own feelings on the matter Johnny cast the blonde a sharp glower from where he leaned against the hood, ceasing the twirl of his knife to tap the tip near Enrique's hand to catch his attention. When those sky-blue eyes met his he drew his free hand unceremoniously across the back of the slender male's head. "That's what you get for thinking." He said, almost snarling as the speed of the knife increased in evident impatience. "Can you fix the fucking truck or not?"

 

Enrique responded by shedding his normal calm demeanour to cast the wires he held onto the dirt road between their feet, glaring openly at the redhead and waving a hand at the truck. "With more light and unlimited time? Sure! As it stands right now - waiting to be torn apart by some fucking rabid dogs with a piece of shit flashlight and you breathing down my neck? **No**!"

 

Johnny straightened to his full height - which was at least half a foot shorter than his Italian compatriot - and jerked his head in the direction of Midwich. "Rei is doing what he can for Eddie, but he says this is like nothing he's ever seen before. We **need** to get the truck running, Enrique."

 

"Yes! Robert made that **very** clear before he sent us out here!" He returned heatedly, striving to keep his voice low so as to avoid attracting attention. "And as I told him there is a **reason** we sabotaged the truck in the fucking first place! So that we can't leave!"

 

Johnny shrugged, unperturbed. "And you can't fix it?"

 

"Given the time, tools and proper conditions you bet your ass I could. I **said** that. But what I also said - and bears repeating - is that this flashlight barely fucking works and all I have on me are my fingers and a pair of dime-store pliers I found in the cop car. If **you** think you can--"

 

He held up a hand to silence his friend with a firm headshake, his eyes straying out towards the darkness once more. For a moment he thought he saw a shadow shift somewhere between two of the houses, but it flickered for only a second and he forced himself to dismiss it before he turned his attention back to the situation at hand. Sighing in defeat he reached out and slammed the hood of the car closed. "Then we have to tell Robert the truck is out until morning. Let's go."

 

"We don't **have** until morning!" Enrique exploded once more, furious at his own helplessness as he ran his hands agitatedly through his hair. He began to pace a sharp circle, shaking his head repeatedly. "We got one man injured, another missing, still no sign of Blitzkrieg…we came into this half-cocked and look where it got us."

 

"Tala was a moron for running off to carry a corpse. His stupidity cannot be excused by his inexperience. Same with Eddie - he should have known better than to wander off alone." He caught one of the blonde's slender shoulders in his palm to halt his frantic pacing, leveling him with a stern stare. "The rest of us do not have that luxury, Enrique. We need to stay focused. If you can't fix it here and now, you can't fix it. Simple as that. We need to get back to Robert and formulate a plan B."

 

"Eddie needs help."

 

Johnny pretended not to hear the frustrated tears in his friend's voice, steering him away from the truck and shoving him into a walk, back towards the darkened town. Once he was certain the Italian could function he reaffirmed his grip on his rifle and thumbed the safety off, his eyes restlessly probing the shadows in the distance for any further sign of movement. "Rei's doing the best he can. We all are. Keep moving and don't look back."

 

"W-what?"

 

"You heard me." The Scot repeated, his voice firm and low. "Pick up the pace and don't look back. If I stop, you run. You remember the house?"

 

"Johnny…the fuck did you see?"

 

"I don't know." The redhead admitted with a surprising amount of calm, barely passing a glance over his shoulder before quickening his own step. "I figure we might be able to outrun it if we need to, but for now it seems content to follow us. Don't look back."

 

"You saying that makes me want to." Enrique informed though he made a point to fight his own instincts, his now free hand moving to extract his pistol from its holster. He had to use both hands to hold it steady and he forced his head to stop turning when he could see Johnny, whose eyes were locked stubbornly ahead. "Did it look…?"

 

"Human?" He finished, shrugging when the blonde nodded. "If I didn't know any better I'd say it was someone trying very hard not to be noticed, but in this situation I can't think of a single civilian who wouldn't want the protection of an armed escort. So that leaves very few options, and none of them good."

 

"Should we talk more quietly?"

 

"What's the point? Whoever it is has to know the truck is knackered. So long as they believe we are ignorant to their presence we are not a threat. If we suddenly start talking in whispers they're going to get suspicious. So just bite your tongue and act normal until we get back to Robert. We'll hash it out then."

 

Unable to resist Enrique tipped his head the final inch to peer over his shoulder into the darkness and was surprised to find nothing behind him but the dead truck in the distance and an empty stretch of road between them. "You think there's more than one of those things that bit Eddie?" He asked at last, more loudly than necessary as he turned his gaze forward once more.

 

"I think that was one fucked up lady and that we shouldn't try to find out. Find Blitzkrieg, help them complete their mission, get the fuck out of here. That's all I know and right now, that's all I want to know."

 

 _'Bullshit.'_ Enrique was wise enough to keep the thought to himself, chewing thoughtfully at the inside of his lower lip while throwing his eyes to the paved ground beneath their feet as they made a left turn, towards the housing district. _'You want to know what's going on here more than anyone, you know they're hiding something. What was it he said? Oh, that's right. "You don't Blitzkrieg a search and rescue".'_ "You might know more than you think, Johnny." He whispered.

 

"That's the reason guys like me don't make it past Captain. I question." Johnny agreed, matching the blonde's volume and casting him a pointed sidelong glance. "The same can't be said for guys like Hiwatari. Keep moving."

 

* * *

 

 

Consciousness never really left him but after a while time began to clarify in his weary brain and Tala reluctantly forced his eyes open to face reality once more. His back still hurt, though thankfully not as badly as it had been, and his vision had adapted somewhat to the murk of the hallway. He put his hands to the floor to hitch himself further up the wall, wincing at the searing pain flaring to life in his left palm.

 

Suddenly remembering the cut - or numerous cuts, he couldn't feel how many there were - he had suffered while climbing the wire he jerked his hand away from the floor as if it were coated in poison, almost toppling over in the process as the right instinctively clutched its wounded brethren to his chest. His eyes slid slowly from one end of the hallway to the other suspiciously.

 

He had been so worried about his wound he had broken protocol once more. No where was secure until it had been cleared of hostiles - he hadn't even noticed the body slumped by the far door, blood and gore painted across the wall and floor around what remained of him. He squinted and strained his tired eyes to better see the corpse but the effort proved futile and it was with great reluctance he dropped his eyes back to his hands.

 

If Robert knew how badly he had fucked things up - how ineptly he had managed to save himself and how he had secured himself with a potential hostile - he would have castigated him from one end of the base to the other. The only thought that reassured him as he struggled to push himself to his feet with his undamaged right hand was that Robert would never find out, because Tala had no desire to spend the next six months cleaning latrines as penance.

 

Tala was almost certain he could hear his knees rattling beneath the merciless weight of his weary body and he grabbed desperately for his rifle, sucking in a sharp breath that tasted faintly like copper as he used it as a crutch to balance himself, still sharing a suspicious glance between the two doors that bookended the hallway.

 

Theoretically the door with the corpse was his best bet, he knew. Obviously he had been fleeing something…and that something had either caught him while he struggled with a locked door, or he simply hadn't made it. His legs protested the thought of bearing him to both doors and he almost collapsed once more, sparing himself from that fate by driving the flat of his injured palm against the corner of the window ledge.

 

Starbursts of unmatchable hues erupted before his eyes, the hallway darkened around them until they faded and were lost to the shadows entirely, the only sounds in the room his straining breaths and hammering heart. "Get the fuck out of here." He muttered to himself, nudging himself away from the wall unsteadily. "Find a bathroom."

 

His feet dragged and swerved in rebellious loops as they walked their clumsy path and for a moment his treacherous subconscious tried to draw him away from reality once more, taking him back to his childhood. For once he did not fight the images, holding his breath as he had back then, forcing one foot in front of the other no matter what lay ahead of him.

 

It had often been a favourite punishment of those who had run the Abbey-prison that had served as his childhood home. He could almost feel the tight, numbing pain of freshly fallen snow beneath his bare feet and for the briefest of instants he would have sworn he caught sight of Father Abbot Balkov giving him a smile as cold as the ice, teeth glimmering between the shadows that swathed his face, urging him to step from the snow onto the glass.

 

His right leg buckled, he began to fall. He bore his weight down hard on the rifle and scrunched his eyes tight, gritting his teeth and forcing himself forward. _'A few more steps. There is no glass, there is no fire, there is no pain. There is blood, there is a body, there is danger. Only a few more steps.'_

 

He hit the door hard with his shoulder, his uninjured hand scrabbling desperately for the knob, his eyes straying back to the corpse. "Locked." He muttered beneath his breath, fighting down panic and nausea at the realization. "You stupid bastard, what made you come this way?"

 

_'Better question for ya, buddy. Who shut the door at the other end of the hallway?'_


End file.
